When Bree Newsome pulled down the Confederate flag – the banner of fascist Ku Klux Klan terror, akin to the Nazi swastika – from in front of the South Carolina statehouse in Columbia on June 27, she gave brief, heroic expression to an anger felt far beyond the Lowcountry over the bloody massacre in Charleston 10 days earlier.

April 15, 1984: Spartacist League supporter Richard Bradley climbs the flagpole at the San Francisco Civic Center to rip down the Confederate battle flag.

The young Black activist’s exemplary act of protest recalled a series of events three decades ago, not in a bastion of the Old South ruled by Republican nut jobs, but 2,500 miles away in liberal San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle journalist Peter Hartlaub recounted in a June 21 posting on his SFGate.com blog that the Confederate battle flag used to fly in the S.F. Civic Center Plaza.

Hartlaub wrote that he’s not sure when the flag “came down for good.” The answer is 1984, when supporters of the Spartacist League, Spartacus Youth League and Labor Black League for Social Defense removed it in the face of strenuous efforts to keep it flying by the city’s then mayor Dianne Feinstein, now a longtime leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate known for pushing U.S. imperialist wars and NSA snooping.

The flag of slavery is burned by Spartacist and Labor Black League supporters.

On April 15, 1984, SL and LBL supporter Richard Bradley, clad in the Civil War uniform of a Union Army soldier, scaled a 50-foot flagpole at the S.F. Civic Center and ripped down the Confederate flag of slavery that had flown over the city for too many years. At ground level, what was left of the flag was burned by a member of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 6.

As the hated symbol of racism and Klan terror was set ablaze, a crowd of Black people, trade unionists and socialists broke into jubilant cheers, and a chorus of “John Brown’s Body” rang out. Black people in the Bay Area welcomed the victory as their own; press clippings make clear that people across the city were glad to be rid of the insult.

At the time, Feinstein, who was in the running for the Democratic vice presidential nomination, was seeking to curry favor with the Dixiecrats, who would be arriving in town three months later for the Democratic National Convention. She had the flag put back up – a racist provocation that came one day after the outrageous acquittal of a KKK-Nazi death squad who had gunned down five leftists, civil rights activists and union organizers in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1979. Bradley and the SL responded by going right back and tearing the new flag to pieces, just hours after Feinstein had hoisted it.

Cops watch the Confederate battle flag burn.

Bradley, who knew well from his childhood in South Carolina what that flag stood for, was arrested for the second time and would be put on trial for “vandalism.” In the eyes of Feinstein and the racist cops, he was a criminal for tearing down the slavocracy’s rag, but in the Bay Area, Ritchie was a local hero, unable to walk into a bar or restaurant without having a drink or meal bought for him.

Telegrams and phone calls poured into the mayor’s office, including from local union leaders, forcing Feinstein to back down and promise that the hated flag would not fly again.

Bradley climbed the flagpole a third time, this time to put up a replica of the historic Union garrison flag that flew over Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor when Confederate forces fired the opening shots of the Civil War. Demonstrating again her scorn for those who fought to smash slavery, Feinstein vindictively had the Union flag removed and it was shredded.

The actions of Bradley and the SL garnered support and gratitude far and wide, including from the incomparable writer Gore Vidal, who inscribed a copy of his new novel “Lincoln” with the words “Lincoln would also have wanted the flag’s symbolic removal.” On June 4, Bradley’s trial ended with a hung jury – eight for acquittal.

Richard Bradley, dressed in a Union soldier’s uniform, cuts down the Confederate flag from atop the 50-foot pole in the San Francisco Civic Center, April 15, 1984.

One juror told Bradley, as he shook his hand, “I would have done it if I had the guts.” The juror donated $20 to the defense and bought a subscription to Workers Vanguard. A week later, in an attempt to avoid further embarrassment for the city administration, Feinstein’s district attorney moved to dismiss all charges – over the strenuous objections of the defense with Bradley insisting on his day in court.

But the story didn’t end there. Feinstein just would not let it die. At the end of June, on the same flagpole that Bradley had twice scaled to remove the Confederate battle flag, the mayor raised the “Stars and Bars,” the first flag of the Confederacy.

That flag was a call to arms for the slaveholders in 1861, just as the Confederate flag is today for the paramilitary KKK and Nazi killers. It was moreover an affront to the history of California, which entered the Union as a free state in 1850 and supplied troops for the Union Army.

In the early morning hours of June 29, anti-racist militants not only took down the flag of slavery but also felled the pole. One of these union workers later wrote to Workers Vanguard, describing the carefully planned action. His report began: “Using an acetylene cutting torch we first cut out a wedge, or fish mouth, to determine the direction of the fall,” and it went on to detail the safety precautions taken to ensure no one was injured.

The Spartacist League saw to it that the Confederate flag, the banner of racist terror, didn’t fly at the S.F. Civic Center. We have a long and proud history of fighting for Black freedom based on the understanding that it will be fully achieved through a third, socialist American revolution. Join us in this task. Finish the Civil War!

New Orleans – As we approach the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, let’s not ignore the “elephant” in New Orleans, notwithstanding the pressure to do just that. The elephant in our city is the rampant land grab displacing predominantly African American residents to the outskirts of the city, where public safety, reliable transit, nearby schools, accessible job opportunities and neighborhood amenities are lacking. To be sure, the displacement of mostly African American residents also creates hardships for white New Orleanians who are not only out-financed by developers and incoming residents, but also see their salaries not keeping up with the rising costs of housing, education and healthcare in this city.

In 2006, members of the Survivor Village tent city outside the St. Bernard public housing complex took their struggle to affluent Uptown New Orleans’ St. Charles Avenue near Tulane University. They wanted to return to their own homes, which were damaged very little or not at all by the storm, not be forced into the fake substitute of “mixed-income housing.” But instead, 4,000 safe and sound homes in public housing complexes were all demolished. – Photo: Indymedia

The elephant we need to address in New Orleans is the privatization of public assets. Just recently, Rep. Neil Abramson introduced House Bill 694 in the state legislature. Abramson’s bill would require the Orleans Parish School Board to sell any building or land that is “vacated or slated to be vacated” to a school charter company for an amount “up to fair market value” and allow the school charter company to re-sell the building or land to any “person or entity.”

If this bill passes into law, there are some 100 properties in neighborhoods across New Orleans that can now wind up in the hands of developers after the initial purchase from the Orleans Parish School Board for a nominal amount.

We cannot ignore the elephant represented by the billions of taxpayer dollars poured into the coffers of private companies that profit from:

the tear-down of public housing developments, construction of apartment complexes for only a small fraction of the public housing residents, and the eviction of those residents through a combination of harsh rules (e.g., no people on porches not named in the lease agreement) and the upcoming expiration of subsidized apartments that will be leased at market rates;

the shut-down of Charity Hospital and the razing of homes in the Mid-City neighborhood to build a hospital managed by LCMC pursuant to a no-bid contract that does not guarantee physical and mental health care that meets the needs of people in our city;

the take-over of public schools with admission policies designed to exclude the enrollment of children who have special needs or are not honor roll students; and

the investment in certain neighborhoods to ramp up demand for skyrocketing housing costs, while other neighborhoods are neglected and denied adequate funds for street improvements, beautification projects and home repair grants from the Road Home program, which a federal court declared was administered in a racially discriminatory manner.

The elephant we need to address in New Orleans is the privatization of public assets.

Sadly, the elephant in our city has no regard for the health and safety of children and families. Case in point: The Recovery School District (RSD) plans to build a school on a site where an old city dump once existed and the land remains highly contaminated. On this dump, known as the Clio Street-Silver City Dump, the Booker T. Washington High School, the Calliope Housing Development and the Rosenwald Recreational Center were built specifically for African Americans during Jim Crow.

There was no consideration at that time of the serious health risks of placing children and families on a waste dump. While some have excused this as something from the bygone era of Jim Crow racial segregation, it is troubling that the same shameful lack of concern for African American children and families persists in the post-Katrina building of the Yvonne Marrero Apartments, the new Rosenwald Recreational Center and the RSD’s plan to build a school on the same waste dump.

Shrouded in secrecy, the elephant in our city shuts New Orleanians out of the decision-making process on key policies, programs and funding priorities. In hindsight, the Unified New Orleans Plan and the Bring Back New Orleans Plan were distractions that moved our collective focus away from the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on implementing other plans that continue to displace residents.

Shrouded in secrecy, the elephant in our city shuts New Orleanians out of the decision-making process on key policies, programs and funding priorities.

As the spotlight turns to New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, will we address the elephant in our city or will we be silent about the injustice and inequity of ongoing displacement of predominantly African American residents in our city?

White protesters in New Orleans East and the proliferation of multi-family housing

Well folks, I thought I had seen it all; but I have not. If you just have a feeling that your neighborhood is changing, hold onto it because the change is not over yet. New Orleans East is the fastest growing district in the city, but not in the way that could be described as progressive.

Poorer African Americans, the working class and the extremely poor are being pushed out to the East by the staggering increases in rents in their childhood neighborhoods and by developers and new land owners capitalizing on the housing shortage in this city.

New Orleans East is the fastest growing district in the city, but not in the way that could be described as progressive.

With the tear-down of affordable housing developments in New Orleans, without adequate rebuilding of replacement housing and with the lockout of poor residents from the new mixed income developments that replaced the demolished public housing projects, the city is being transformed.

There is a new set of landlords in town. Many disguise themselves as missionaries, but a more adequate description would be new “carpetbaggers,” who are working alongside their Southern sympathizers in this transformation. These church-based organizations buy apartment complexes formerly designed for use by adults with one or no children. Non-profit organizations and others are acquiring bonds to purchase these properties.

As we watch large numbers of poor African American women, children and the elderly pushed out of their neighborhoods and former housing projects into complexes not built for families that have no green space for children, our hearts break. It is difficult to watch our people walking in areas with no sidewalks, down service roads at night with no lights, no access to grocery stores and limited transportation.

There is a new set of landlords in town. Many disguise themselves as missionaries, but a more adequate description would be new “carpetbaggers,” who are working alongside their Southern sympathizers in this transformation.

Some homeowners decided to protest and become opponents of the continuation of the sale of these properties to organizations with bad records. But more so, to the proliferation of a pattern that nationally has proven successful for realtors and developers, but not for African Americans.

This protest by homeowners in the East, however, is being met with unexpected resolve and venom by the new “carpetbaggers” attempting to expand this practice and their profits. One landlord representing a church organization organized a protest against the neighborhood associations opposing this hostile takeover of our community.

A group of mostly white protesters actually held signs on Crowder Boulevard, proclaiming that this neighborhood did not want poor people to live here. It was an unbelievable sight to see. But it tells us that these people will stoop to any level and stop at nothing to continue their scheme.

These people will stoop to any level and stop at nothing to continue their scheme.

All of a sudden, Black people don’t like poor people. Well for most of us, that would be the rest of our entire families. How absurd.

Undeniably, the shift in population tells a different story. It seems that the plans for the “New” New Orleans include the pushing out of thousands of poor African Americans with the intent of concentrating families in the East and any other suburb where they can be pushed out of the city.

A continuous mantra of liberals and some conservatives on what to do with the large concentration of poor African Americans in housing projects was the deconcentrating of poverty. In other words, a healthy outcome cannot be expected when communities are made up of mostly large concentrations of poor people.

The answer to the poverty question was merely to move poor people around, not improve employment opportunities as would be expected to solve the problem of poverty.

It seems that the plans for the “New” New Orleans include the pushing out of thousands of poor African Americans with the intent of concentrating families in the East and any other suburb where they can be pushed out of the city.

If the truth were told, this dispersing of the poor is really the reconstruction of housing projects without the benefit of green space and convenient access to amenities.

The question that is being asked by many New Orleans East homeowners is why housing projects are not good for this community in certain areas but are perfectly suitable for African American middle to upper-middle income suburbs. This new found religion for housing the poor did not include reconstructing affordable housing in the city.

The “new” housing projects are former apartment complexes built for adults, but will soon be home for mostly women and children. Ironically, most of our leaders seem not to have a problem with filling every apartment complex in the East with poor residents and building huge complexes in the same area for 100 percent rent subsidy recipients.

Dr. Beverly Wright

Eastern New Orleans represents the designated area for the re-concentration of the poor. Oh, but it’s a secret! We are not supposed to recognize this occurrence. We should not notice the increase in traffic, trash, noise, violence and other negative disamenities encroaching upon our community.

We should not notice the lack of upkeep of the apartment complexes and walking spaces along the boulevard or our diminishing property values. But if we do notice these things and complain to property owners, our city and state representatives and our neighborhood associations organize to advocate for the safety and beautification of our neighborhoods but without the poor, implying, “We hate poor people.” There seems to be a whole set of different rules for us that don’t apply to others.

Well, we are not accepting their reality and will not be shamed by lies of self-hatred and disregard for poorer African Americans. This is patently untrue and defies the reality of living, loving and owning property in the East.

While the reputation of the East has been defamed almost in tandem with its change to a majority African American community, homeowners have continued to return home in large numbers to the East. It is our neighborhood and we will fight to maintain its dignity.

Dr. Beverly Wright is a sociologist and the executive director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans, Louisiana. She can be reached at Dillard University, 2601 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70122, 504-816-4005, or through her website, at http://drbeverlywright.com/index.php/contact-footer.

As I go about my travels up and down Third Street, especially frustrated over the Black corridor scene – lack of thriving Black businesses, people hanging on the streets, while other areas of the strip of avenues – Dogpatch, etc., are thriving! WHEN will change happen??? Where are Black investors?

So much building going on in Bayview Hunters Point – the NEW FRONTIER AND LAST BASTION FOR BLACK FOLKS! New homes, business opportunities in Candlestick rebuilding – We’ve got to get a BIG CHUNK of the pie! Rochelle, KEEP HOPE ALIVE!

GOOD NEWS! This month SCHOOL BELLS will be ringing and the much anticipated, state-of-the-art WILLIE L. BROWN JR. MIDDLE SCHOOL, located on Silver Avenue, will be OPENING in the heart of the BAYVIEW. Look for the former Mayor himself and other VIPS to be on the scene.

School Board Commissioner Shamann Walton – Photo: Rochelle Metcalfe

Recently, happened to run into San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner SHAMANN WALTON, strikingly dressed in blue suit, white shirt and sparkling tie, on his way to the Young Community Developers office (YCD), a short stroll off Third on Yosemite, where he has served as Executive Director, for the past five years.

Elected to the School Board in 2014, taking office Jan. 7, he has a lot on his plate. Originally from Bayview Hunters Point, lived in public housing. A young man of 40, family man, finds himself in a good spot.

Suggested we calendar a conversation, which, as it turned out, a day filled with several meetings for him, but on his second floor front office talking about the school board and neighborhood.

So much to talk about, especially reference our youth and jobs, and education. Recall him saying, “I just want every kid to be successful!” Well, one can’t be successful WITHOUT education and a job!

YCD offers academic support and work experience to San Francisco youth. NOW, serving on the Board of Education, he’s in an excellent position to ensure career pathways and job opportunities, for not only Black students, but others.

Under Shamann’s leadership, YCD has worked directly with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), providing tutorial, credit recovery and job training programs in several SFUSD high schools.

YCD offers academic support and work experience to San Francisco youth. NOW, serving on the Board of Education, he’s in an excellent position to ensure career pathways and job opportunities, for not only Black students, but others.

Bright smile flashed across his face when mentioning the Willie Brown Middle School – WORLD CLASS. He’s excited: It will “bring more vibrancy back to Bayview Hunters Point to build a brand new state of the art world class facility right in Bayview Hunters Point that will FOCUS on science, technology, engineering, math and of course the arts. Lots of people give up on this community and think that we don’t have the resolve.”

Walton is in an excellent position – hands on the pulse of the community and the youth! YCD, a workforce development agency, which manages, develops and implements job readiness training, job placement and case management services for participants. STOP IN!

Walton is in an excellent position – hands on the pulse of the community and the youth!

Asked his thoughts reference Mendell Plaza (I call it the PEOPLE’S PLAZA) – mentioned my frustration seeing those lost souls standing around. He expressed, “We have to do a better job of providing more opportunities within schools. Provide training. OUTREACH – put people to work from those corners, provide programming they’re interested in.” He’s seen the shifts and changes on Third Street. “Have to get Blacks to invest in this influx of new community housing – figure out a way to bring new vibrancy to Third Street.”

BACK ON THIRD – 5800 at Carroll. THE HOTTEST WEEKEND BRUNCH happening can be enjoyed at CDXX – roman numerals for April 20, 2012, the day the co-owners and chefs, FLETCHER STARKEY and ROSHANI PATEL first met! A real sweet couple and staff! The food and ambiance is great! CDXX open six days a week – closed on Mondays.

MOVING ON – HOT! HOT! over at Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center, on Yosemite, a hop, skip and jump from my residence! The Sixth Annual Monday Night Jam kicks off the summer series of Monday Night LIVE entertainment – an evening of socializing and SWEEEET music!

Last Monday in July, the group “No Doubt About It,” led by BAAAD blowing saxophonist ANTHONY DILLARD and groovy musicians, BLEEEEW the roof off the two story building, literally! Dillard has that Gerald Albright-Grover Washington flavored voice and sax sound – HE’S THE REEEAL DEAL! Line dance instructor INEZ BRADSTREET FOUND IT HARD TO CONTAIN HERSELF – the MUSIC SOOOO GOOD!

OK, GOTTA’ MOVE OFF 3-street – MAKING THE ROUNDS – FILLMORE STREET JAZZ FESTIVAL had it going on. BOBBY WEBB drew an audience as always, folks dancin’ in the street in front of 1300 and defunct ADDITION/YOSHI’S – seen having a good time, classy MISS ALPHA J. BUIE, doing line dancing steps; SOULFUL couple – BARBARA STEWART and “Dancing DAN” DANIELS.

Sorry, didn’t get a chance to mention FILLMORE JUNETEENTH Festival, where I saw folks seldom seen – BOB BENTON, former owner Corn ‘n’ Company, now The PAGE Bar, there on Diviz and Page; iconic Fillmore photographer JOHN MORRIS; FRANCES LUSTER; TWO LIVING FILLMORE LEGENDS – entertainers FILLMORE SLIM AND BOBBIE WEBB, STILL DOING THEIR THING!

HEY, IT’S NICE TO BE NICE AND TO ALL OF YOU OUT THERE … LOOK FOR ME … I’LL BE THERE …

“Black August” – how many of these people and their stories do you know? Black August is a good time to get better acquainted. – Art: Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, 1859887, Clements Unit, 9601 Spur 591, Amarillo TX 79107, who is minister of defense for the New Afrikan Black Panther Party Prison Chapter

My sisters and brothers and all New Afrikan Black Panther Party comrades, we are coming up on our 11th anniversary of Black August, and it is at this time we remember our murdered Minister of Human Rights Hasan Shakur, who was taken from us on Aug. 31, 2006, by our enemies who run the state of Texas. However, we will move on in Hasan Shakur’s name with Panther love to create people’s power and revolution!

“To all who have dreamed – to all who have struggled – to all who have succeeded – to all who have failed – to all who have loved and won – to all who have loved and lost – to all who have dared to be different – to those who are not afraid to speak their mind – to the voiceless – to all the Kamaus, Shakas and Rudds – to all those who believed and achieved – to all who have been forced into silence – to all who are not afraid of adversity – to all the newborns awaiting breath,” as stated in the NABPP-PC Hasan Shakur Enrollment Handbook, this is dedicated to you – Hasan Shakur!

My sisters and brothers and all New Afrikan Black Panther Party comrades, we are coming up on our 11th anniversary of Black August.

Our Black August 2015 readings are books on the political struggles of the original Black Panther Party, so we can learn from past mistakes and successes. Also try to study “The 48 Laws of Power” by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers.

Fasting will start on Aug. 7 all day. And then after the 7th, you are only to eat two times a day until Aug. 21, when you are not to eat at all. The next day, eat only one meal. After the 22nd, you go back to eating two meals a day until the 31st, when you eat nothing again. The three fast days are to honor our Black Panther comrades, George Jackson, Jonathon Jackson and Hasan Shakur – may they rest in peace!

During the month of Black August, the elders, political prisoners and veterans of the struggle should make a special effort to teach the younger comrades and youth about Panther love and our rich history of struggle against slavery and oppression. Besides fasting, comrades should work out and do physical exercise to shape up your bodies and study to sharpen your minds as well as spend some time in meditation to put mind, body and spirit in sync.

Prepare yourselves for the struggles to come. Reread the Party documents, the 10-Point Program, the Rules of Discipline and so on. Reread the teaching about Black August in Right On! No. 4, if you can locate a copy.

During the month of Black August, the elders, political prisoners and veterans of the struggle should make a special effort to teach the younger comrades and youth about Panther love and our rich history of struggle against slavery and oppression.

As the NABPP-PC minister of justice, I take observance of Black August very seriously. Many people have been killed or placed into prison in our struggle. Let us not be slack in honoring them. Let us rise together to break our chains of injustice and slavery!

We will not have any peace until there is justice!

My appeal to all of the members and supporters is this: Study hard and learn from your mistakes and victories of the past so that we may move ahead in love and unity. Honor the elders and veterans and show respect to our leaders. Apply what you know, and each one teach one. Exercise discipline. Stand tall and be not afraid.

Many people have been killed or placed into prison in our struggle. Let us not be slack in honoring them. Let us rise together to break our chains of injustice and slavery!

Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., killed by Baltimore police, tased and then shot in the back as he attempted to run away at a traffic stop April 12, 2015.

Malcolm Latif Shabazz, beaten to death in Mexico City, Mexico, May 9, 2013, by two club waiters during a tour there to demand more rights for Mexican construction workers relocated in the U.S.

We also remember many more people of color who were killed at the hands of the police in the U.S.A.

My brothers and sisters, I thank you all for the contributions you have made to the struggle. Restoring our Black Panther Party is a great task that will take time and a lot of hard work and sacrifice. We have made a good start.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, the nation saw tens of thousands of people left behind in New Orleans. Ten years later, it looks like the same people in New Orleans have been left behind again.

The tragic and infuriating consequences of demolishing 4,000 perfectly livable public housing apartments in developments with study buildings and generous green space, looking like college campuses, are reflected in statistics on the increase in poverty, the unaffordability of current housing for those who have returned and the failure of half the former public housing residents to return home at all.

The population of New Orleans is noticeably smaller and noticeably whiter. While tens of billions poured into Louisiana, the impact on poor and working people in New Orleans has been minimal.

Many of the elderly and the poor, especially poor families with children, never made it back to New Orleans. The poverty rate for children who did made it back remains at disturbingly high pre-Katrina levels, especially for Black children.

Rents are high and taking a higher percentage of people’s income. The pre-Katrina school system fired all its teachers and professionals and turned itself into the charter experiment capital of the U.S. even while the number of children in public schools has dropped dramatically.

Since Katrina, white incomes, which were over twice that of Blacks, have risen three times as much as Blacks. While not all the numbers below are bad, they do illustrate who has been left behind in the 10 years since Katrina hit.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, the nation saw tens of thousands of people left behind in New Orleans. Ten years later, it looks like the same people in New Orleans have been left behind again.

38 – In 2005, 38 percent of the children in New Orleans lived in poverty, 17 percentage points higher than the U.S. as a whole. The most recent numbers show 39 percent of the children in New Orleans live in poverty, still 17 percentage points higher than the national average. 82 percent of these families have someone working in the family so the primary cause is low wages.

44 – New Orleans now has 44 school boards. Prior to Katrina, nearly all the public schools in New Orleans were overseen by the one Orleans Parish School Board. Ninety-one percent of the public schools in New Orleans are now charter schools, the highest rate in the country. Only 32 percent of African Americans believe the new nearly all charter school system is better than the public school system before the storm versus 44 percent of whites, even though precious few whites attend the public schools.

3,221 – There are now 3,221 fewer low income public housing apartments in New Orleans than when Katrina hit. In 2005 there were 5,146 low income public housing apartments in New Orleans, plus thousands of other public housing apartments scheduled for renewal or maintenance, nearly 100 percent African American.

6,000 – There are 6,000 fewer people on Social Security in Orleans Parish than before the storm. Orleans parish had 26,654 people on Social Security, either old age or disability, in 2004. Orleans parish had 20,325 people on Social Security in the latest report.

There are similar drops in the numbers of people on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in New Orleans. There were just over 3,000 families receiving state temporary assistance in New Orleans in May 2005. As of May 2015, that number was down to 463.

9,000 – There are 9,000 fewer families receiving food stamps than before. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the old food stamps program. In May 2015, Orleans Parish had just under 40,000 households receiving SNAP benefits. In May 2005, New Orleans had 49,000 households receiving food stamps.

In 2005, the median income for Black households was $23,394, while the median for white households was $49,262. By 2013, the median income for Black households had grown only slightly, to $25,102. But the median for white households had jumped to $60, 553.

44,516 – The New Orleans metro area (Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany parishes) has 44,516 more Hispanic residents in 2013 than in 2000. The total is now 103,061, just over 8 percent of the metro population according to The Data Center.

71,000 – Seventy one thousand fewer people live in New Orleans now than before the storm. In 2005, New Orleans had a population of 455,000 and in 2014 its population was 384,000.

I have known Iminah, the renaissance woman who works under the brand name “From Ghetto to Goddess,” for a few years, and I continue to be inspired by how she serves the Black community. Since moving back to Oakland from Atlanta where she went to college, Iminah has been involved with speaking to at-risk youth, writing and recording an album, and dancing in everything from plays and dance shows to music videos.

Sistah Iminah

Iminah is also scheduled to perform at this year’s Black Media Appreciation Night on Sept. 12 at 762 Fulton in Frisco. Check her out in this exclusive Q&A.

M.O.I. JR: What has inspired you to want to be a professional singer?

Sistah Iminah: Music has always been a vibrant force in my life. As a youth I was deeply affected by music and the lyrics within the music.

I realized that a lot of the messaging in the music I grew up listening to was very damaging to my psyche over the years. I realized that music has created much of our popular culture, especially in the Black community.

As I grew in my consciousness, I realized that I have a natural gift for singing, writing songs and dancing that can be a positive force in this world. This inspired me to become a professional musician.

As I grew in my consciousness, I realized that I have a natural gift for singing, writing songs and dancing that can be a positive force in this world. This inspired me to become a professional musician.

M.O.I. JR: How would describe your sound for people who have never heard you?

I’ve been working with Jamaki “the Khemist” of Rally Up Music based in Oakland for my upcoming album, “From Ghetto to Goddess.” His sound as a producer encompasses all these genres, so it’s been a great fit.

M.O.I. JR: Out of all the types of music that you grew up on, what makes you want to make Afrobeat music?

Sistah Iminah: I grew up in an Afrocentric family, which was a major blessing for me. Unlike many of my peers, I was able to positively identify with African culture and history.

African spirituality infuses Sistah Iminah’s music.

As I grew and developed on my life path, I became introduced to Afrobeat through Brother Tenisio Seanima in Atlanta. He introduced me to Sandra Izsadore, the mother of Afrobeat, and from there I had the opportunity to meet two of Fela Kuti’s sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti.

I began to research the music and legacy of Fela and also saw the Broadway Musical “Fela!” Shortly after this I was asked to take part in a historic concert featuring Dede Mabiaku, Fela’s protege and band member of Egypt 80. At this point I realized the power and potency of Afrobeat music. Fela always said music is the weapon of the future, so I decided to do what I can to be a force for good in this world.

M.O.I. JR: How have people responded to you?

Sistah Iminah: People have been pleasantly surprised as they are growing to understand my music and my overall brand. I’ve gotten a huge response from the African “immigrant” community, as many people are not used to a “Born-Again African” like me.

I love Africa, African people, African culture and African spirituality – all things that American culture somewhat considers taboo. So people are definitely taking notice and embracing what I represent.

I would describe my sound as Born Again African Soul. It’s a mix of R & B, Hip Hop, Reggae, Afrobeat and Oakland Soul music.

M.O.I. JR: Where are you performing in the near future?

Sistah Iminah: My next concert will be Friday, July 31, from 10 p.m.-2 a.m., at Miliki, 3725 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland. Miliki is a Nigerian Restaurant in East Oakland that brings a lot of African culture to Oakland. I will be performing with Nigerian saxophonist and guitarist Rotimi, aka Rotosax. It’s going to be live!

My next concert will be Friday, July 31, from 10 p.m.-2 a.m., at Miliki, 3725 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland.

M.O.I. JR: Can you tell us what you do with your Ghetto to Goddess brand?

Sistah Iminah: From Ghetto to Goddess is a movement, mission and vision. With this brand I have music, education in the realms of self-esteem building, cultural competency and nutritional education, a media platform and more. There are several things developing the #ghetto2Goddess brand and I’m very excited and thankful!

M.O.I. JR: How do people keep up with you online?

Sistah Iminah: Definitely visit my website, iminahlaura.com, like me on Facebook, “Sistah Iminah,” and follow me on instagram @iminahlaura. I will look forward to connecting with people as things develop and blossom. Give thanks!

By a 4-1 vote, the City of Richmond passed a rent control and just cause eviction law on Tuesday, July 21. This is a watershed moment for renters throughout the region and the state, as it’s the first new rent control law in California in decades.

A broad coalition of tenants, labor allies, homeowners and progressive community groups packed the hearing chambers as Vice Mayor Jael Myrick joined Councilmembers Jovanka Beckles, Eduardo Martinez and Gayle McLaughlin in casting the votes to pass rent control. These councilmembers withstood an aggressive and well-funded lobbying effort by real estate industry representatives that tried in vain to persuade the Council that rent control was the wrong answer to rising rents and displacement.

Councilmember Nathaniel Bates cast the lone vote against the measure in the end. Mayor Thomas Butt and Councilmember Vinay Pimple were vehemently opposed but did not cast votes. In a dramatic moment just before the vote when it became clear that Vice Mayor Myrick was going to support rent control, Mayor Butt stated: “I’m leaving. I can’t deal with this,” at which point he stood up and left the meeting, followed by Councilmember Pimple. Moments later, by a 4-1 vote, the Council passed rent control.

Rent control ordinances are critical to help stabilize communities in the face of tremendous real estate speculation. For example, despite the Silicon Valley economic boom, communities with rent control ordinances, such as East Palo Alto, have been able to prevent the displacement that usually results from increased housing prices. It is for this reason that more and more communities around the region are mobilizing for renters’ rights!

Now more than ever we need to build on this momentum and make sure that all tenants are protected against unfair rent increases and arbitrary evictions.

Oakland – On July 16, Public Advocates, a nonprofit law firm, sent out a press release announcing that, bowing to community pressure, Oakland has invited new proposals for affordable housing at the controversial Lake Merritt East 12th Street parcel that local groups protested against as an illegal land deal with Urban Core that violated the Surplus Land Act governing the sale of publicly owned land.

Resident Jasmine Hudson and her son are smiling in this promotional photo taken at the grand opening of the big Bridge Housing development called Ironhorse at Central Station in Oakland. But many other low-income renters are excluded by the high minimum income requirements. All but 20 of the 99 apartments are for residents making $18,000-$50,000 annually. – Photo: Julio Cesar Martinez

“We are very excited about the city’s decision to comply with the law and address community concerns by re-opening the process,” said Monica Garcia, who lives just two blocks from the site and is a member of Eastlake United for Justice, a neighborhood group advocating for affordable housing in Oakland. “As we move forward, we urge the city to work with the community to ensure that affordable housing is built on the East 12th parcel and remain true to the idea that public land should be used for the public good,” she said.

Now that the land deal that would have illegally benefited Urban Core has been scuttled by city officials and the parcel is now up for bid as a possible site for so-called affordable housing, the question arises as to what kind of so-called affordable housing site will it eventually become?

Many are already asking, are the so-called affordable housing projects in Oakland and the Bay Area really affordable to most disabled persons receiving their income through SSI, or are they affordable for retired persons receiving Social Security? Apparently they are not.

As an example, during 2014 at the Avalon senior housing project located at 3850 San Pablo in Oakland, the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp. (EBALDC) demanded that people seeking housing at this subsidized project must have a minimum income of at least twice the rent. During 2014, studio apartments were going for $600 a month at this project, one bedroom apartments were as high as $712 per month, and two bedroom apartments were $845. Many low-income disabled and retired persons on Social Security could not afford to reside there due to the minimum income requirements.

During 2014, the average monthly Social Security check for a single retired worker was $1,294, which means that the average retired person on Social Security cannot afford to reside in a one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment at the Avalon senior housing project and can barely afford to reside in a studio apartment at this location. Many retired and disabled workers earn much less than $1,294 per month as Social Security income or SSI, and as a result the retired and disabled persons face discrimination at many so-called affordable housing projects in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area.

Many are already asking, are the so-called affordable housing projects in Oakland and the Bay Area really affordable to most disabled persons receiving their income through SSI, or are they affordable for retired persons receiving Social Security? Apparently they are not.

The average Social Security monthly benefit in California during 2014 was $1,294 per month. The average SSI (disability) benefit payment was $877.40 per month. The average TANF (CalWorks) family in California is an adult with two children that receives $510 a month in benefits. General Assistance in California during 2014 pays $336 per month to a single person. Food Stamps (CalFresh/SNAP) for one person is $189 per month, and persons receiving SSI or SSP are not allowed in the program.

During 2013 the average monthly food stamp benefit for one individual in California was $151.44. Additional records reveal that during 2011, in California’s 13th Congressional District, Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s district, 11,899 households received food stamps, including 16 percent of households with one or more people 60 years or older and 76.8 percent of households with children under 18. Around 46.6 percent of the households’ income was below the poverty level, with the median income around $27,441.

When taking a closer look at many so-called affordable housing projects in Oakland and the Bay Area, it appears that unless the disabled persons receiving SSI and many persons retired on Social Security have Section 8 housing vouchers (Housing Choice Vouchers), most of them do not have an income high enough to reside in many so-called affordable housing projects.

Ironhorse, a so-called affordable housing project at Central Station in Oakland

As another example of a project with minimum income requirements that discriminate against the poor and disabled, we can look at the Ironhorse so-called affordable housing project at Central Station, a 99-unit project developed by Bridge Housing. The project is funded in part by a federally regulated government program called the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC), as well as other sources of funding to subsidize the housing project, according to Bridge Housing.

During 2010, Bridge Housing announced that the Ironhorse so-called affordable housing project delivers 99 apartments for families earning up to 50 percent of the local area medium income (AMI), or let’s just say that most persons at Ironhorse are required to have incomes between $18,000 and $50,000 annually. Out of 99 apartments, there are 20 at Ironhorse set aside for those with the lowest incomes residing in units receiving rent subsidies from the federal government through Oakland Housing Authority.

As another example of a project with minimum income requirements that discriminate against the poor and disabled, we can look at the Ironhorse so-called affordable housing project at Central Station, a 99-unit project developed by Bridge Housing.

Ironhorse demands that the income of a person seeking to rent a one bedroom apartment for $460 per month must earn between $15,771 and $19,650 per year to reside in what is called Tier 1. The minimum income requirement is way more than the average retired person on Social Security or a disabled person on SSI earns and leaves them out in the cold unless they have a Section 8 voucher.

In Tier 2 at Ironhorse, a person renting a one-bedroom apartment that rents for $541 per month must have an income between $18,549 and $22,925 per year. In Tier 3, Bridge Housing demands that a person renting a one-bedroom apartment for $622 per month must have an income between $21,326 – $26,200. There are no minimum income requirements for Section 8 applicants (Housing Choice Voucher applicants), according to their application documents.

The harsh reality at this so-called affordable housing project subsidized by taxpayers is that most low-income disabled and retired people face discrimination due to the minimum income requirements imposed by Bridge Housing, a $2 billion so-called nonprofit housing developer.

Other properties with minimum income requirements discriminating against the poor during 2014

At the Erna P. Harris Court in Berkeley, owned by Resources for Community Development (RCD), they are demanding that tenants earn a minimum of $5,700 per year to be able to reside in an SRO unit, and must earn at least $9,495 per year to reside in a one-bedroom apartment at this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project.

Residents at the Fargo Senior Center in San Leandro, owned by Christian Church Homes of Northern California (CCH), are required to earn as much as twice the rent at this so-called affordable housing project. Studio apartments go for as much as $491-$818 per month, and one-bedroom apartments cost $526-$876 per month, leaving many poor Social Security recipients out in the cold because they do not meet the minimum income requirements at this taxpayer subsidized housing project.

At the Fremont Oak Gardens, owned by SAHA Homes, another so-called affordable housing developer, poor people face discrimination if they fail to meet the minimum income requirement of $10,994 per year for seniors 55 and older.

The Harrison Hotel in downtown Oakland, which has 81 SRO units in the building, requires that poor people earn as much as twice the rent, and the rent at this location is $375 per month.

Helios Corner, owned by SAHA Homes in Berkeley, has 80 senior and special needs units but demands that poor people must earn $17,304 per year to reside in a studio apartment, $18,456 for a one-bedroom unit and a whopping $22,080 for a two-bedroom unit in this so-called affordable taxpayer subsidized housing project.

The project called Homes Now in the Community, owned by SAHA Homes in Oakland, has 10 special needs apartments for rent but demands that the low-income tenants in the area must earn as much as 30 percent of the local AMI (area median income) to reside there.

Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments in Oakland, which is also owned by SAHA Homes, is a 70-unit project for seniors. Poor people face discrimination at this so-called affordable housing taxpayer subsidized project if they do not earn as much as $11,328 per year to live in a studio apartment or $18,408 per year for a one-bedroom apartment.

Northgate Terrace for seniors in Oakland, owned by Christian Church Homes of Northern California (CCH), requires that the poor elderly people seeking housing at this taxpayer subsidized housing project must earn as much as $1,450 per month, which is way more than the average person receiving Social Security earns each month.

The Peter Babcock House in Berkeley, owned by SAHA Homes, is a special needs project with five SRO units and demands that poor people must earn at least $7,320 per year to reside in this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project.

At the Ellis Street Apartments in San Francisco, owned by Asian Inc., another so-called affordable housing developer, is a project with 30 units of studio and one-bedroom apartments, and the minimum income requirement is $1,400 per month, which discriminates against the average person receiving Social Security payments of $1,294 per month.

The Bayanihan House in San Francisco, owned by TODCO, has 152 SRO units with shared bathrooms and charges $545 per month in rent, but they have a minimum income requirement of $866.40 per month, which leaves many out in the cold.

Coleridge Park Homes for seniors in San Francisco, owned by Bridge Housing, has a minimum income requirement of $17,616 per year for some and as much as $26,808 per year for others at this taxpayer subsidized housing project.

The Knox SRO building in San Francisco, owned by TODCO, has 18 SRO units, and they have a minimum income requirement of $866.40 at this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project.

The William Penn Hotel in San Francisco, owned by Chinatown Community Development Corp., has 96 SRO units, and the minimum income requirement is 1.5 times the rent. The rent is $460-$541 per month at this taxpayer subsidized so-called affordable housing project, leaving many poor people out in the cold.

George Jackson was a legendary prisoner who was attempting to organize the Blacks, Latinos and poor whites under their common linkage as victims of an exploitative class system. At that time, he was incarcerated in the San Quentin Adjustment Center, which housed the prison’s most feared and dangerous inmates.

Black Panther newspaper editors, in the Aug. 28, 1971, issue, the first after George Jackson’s assassination, urged readers to keep his spirit alive. In prisons throughout California and the U.S. and in the hearts of freedom-loving people everywhere, that spirit thrives.

The Adjustment Center also housed the political prisoners. Both Huey Newton, who had recently been released from prison, and Angela Davis, who was incarcerated herself, had asked me to “go see about George.” George’s attorney, John Thorne, had to get a court order to allow me to visit George.

On April 8, 1971, I drove my bright red Plymouth Barracuda across the San Rafael Bridge to San Quentin, parked and walked down the long lane to the opening gates of San Quentin. There, a short wiry guard, who George later informed me was a member of the John Birch Society (a far right-wing group that was politically influential at the time – ed.), searched my black medical bag. Another guard escorted me across the yard and along several dreary red brick buildings, winding our way to the feared Adjustment Center.

After being led into the Adjustment Center, I immediately saw a tall, handsome man, locked into his holding cage, which was the size of a small casket, that was bolted against the wall. He immediately gave me the raised fist sign, power to the people, as I nodded my head toward him.

A thin, shorter gentleman, Ruchelle McGee, was sitting to the left against the wall. He stared at me, asking me if I was an attorney? When I told him no, he smiled at me. Ruchelle was a jailhouse attorney who felt that he, himself, and many other prisoners were victims of glib attorneys. Ruchelle had a passionate dislike for attorneys.

The escorting guard told me that George was a very intelligent person – “too bad he got into trouble.” He unlocked George’s cage and escorted both of us into a small office to the right of the hallway. We saw a layer of guards lining the room like corn stalks in a circle. George immediately pointed out which guards were members of the John Birch Society. “Officer so and so is a member and so are his two sons; the john who searched you at the entrance is one of his sons.”

Dr. Tolbert Small speaks against health care denial and government repression on Lil Bobby Hutton Day, April 16, 2005.

Using a hard oak desk as an exam table, I gave George a complete history and physical. George was concerned over the pain from his ingrown toenails; he wanted me to operate on him, immediately. I informed him that this was not possible.

The San Quentin officials had ignored George’s request for medical therapy for over a year. I arranged for George Rhoden, D.P.M., a Jamaican gold medalist in the Olympic 400 meters, to perform the surgery. In direct violation of the court order, Warden Red Nelson refused to allow Dr. Rhoden into San Quentin.

George told me that he realized that the podiatrist who operated on his toes was not referred by me, when the podiatrist asked George, “Did he feel any pain?” George replied, “Yes.” The podiatrist then proceeded to cut on George’s toes.

Immediately after the surgery, they made George walk 200 yards back to the Adjustment Center. Each step was quite painful for George. The guards claimed that George was too much of a security risk to stay in the infirmary.

George was not given any convalescence, because Warden Nelson didn’t want an extra guard in the hospital. Knowing that George was allergic to codeine, they gave him codeine for pain. George was up all night vomiting. They refused to give him any other pain medicine. They gave George another prisoner’s three year old dirty shoes and dirty socks to wear. He was given no follow-up care, no clean facilities and no sterile gauze.

George was more concerned with the health of other prisoners than with his own health. He wanted me to visit an ill Ulysses McDaniels, the cofounder of the Black Guerilla Family. I was allowed to visit George three times before Warden Nelson had the judge rescind the court order. Warden Nelson claimed that I was a security risk.

Dr. Small and a young patient smile on the day Barack Obama was elected president, Nov. 6, 2007. They’re in his Harriet Tubman Medical Office, a restored Victorian built in the late 1800s.

George’s body bore the permanent scars of many a battle. In 1967, he was hit with a lead truncheon five times; he bore to his grave an indentation and scar on the back of his skull. After this beating, he had ringing in his ears for six months.

On April 6, 1971, a San Francisco sheriff’s deputy kicked him into his mouth, knocking out three of his teeth. The same day, while handcuffed, George was cracked across his throat with a sap. He had pain over his larynx and he had numerous bruises over his neck. He had been hit in the nose numerous times. He had a permanent nasal scar.

The left frontal area of his head was swollen. His right shoulder had a bite mark. In November 1970, the prison guards broke and dislocated his left fourth finger. This was not treated. The finger grew back crooked. Even today, the San Quentin guards brag about the good old days in which they would take eight people to beat one prisoner down.

George was an amazing person. Like Napoleon, he only slept four hours per night. He spent his days reading, writing, exercising and doing martial arts. He did a thousand pushups per day in sets of one hundred. He showed me how he could do pushups standing on his head.

George was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1971. He was shot in the neck while he lay helpless on the ground from a gunshot wound to his foot. When Mrs. Georgia Jackson heard about it on the radio, she called up San Quentin.

Dr. Small’s support for radical change agents has never wavered. Here he interviews political exile Assata Shakur in Havana in August 1997.

The prison guard laughingly told her, “We killed one of yours sons last year and another one this year. Pretty soon you won’t have any more sons left.” I was up to 3 a.m. with an angry but grieved Georgia Jackson.

In a telegram that I sent Mrs. Jackson on Aug. 25, 1971, I wrote: “Let George’s fiery writings and iron deeds serve as a path to lead all of our imprisoned cadres to final victory. Let us mourn him. Let us love him. Let us miss him. Let us do as he did in the name of freedom. In our last hours, let us die as men and not as slaves. Long live George Jackson.”

George was not a paper panther. In the Black Panther Party, we had many paper panthers, some in leadership roles. That is why the first woman to join the Panther Party would be one of the first women to be beaten in the party. I would like to dedicate this poem to Comrade George; I wrote it five years after George’s assassination.

The Heroic Guerilla

Scream! Scream! Scream!
About that man
Who threatened the fires of hell.
Stalk forward, Bronze Dragon.
Breathe pits of fire
To melt the molted bars of slavery.
Conquer concrete walls
With courageous conviction.
Teach us the art of raging, Heroic Guerilla.

]]>http://sfbayview.com/2015/07/on-visiting-george/feed/1Learning is forever: Fathers leading the wayhttp://sfbayview.com/2015/07/learning-is-forever-fathers-leading-the-way/
http://sfbayview.com/2015/07/learning-is-forever-fathers-leading-the-way/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 18:36:58 +0000http://sfbayview.com/?p=56910The joy of fatherhood: Helpful tips for fathers and men who want to become fathers

by Morris Turner

As summer winds down and many of us go through the annual ritual of preparing our children for re-entry into school, how many of us think to ourselves, “I wish I had finished high school,” or even pondered, “I wonder if I could have gone to college?” Now, with our lives so tightly bound by jobs, relationships and the ongoing responsibilities of day to day life, it can seem like a fantasy to even imagine such things.

Travis Washington, a father leading by example and loving every minute

No matter where we stopped in the educational process and no matter what the reason, we all have more within us to share and to learn. For some of us it was financial resources. We just didn’t have the dollars to cover the cost of school. Others of us just got side tracked – satisfied with a J-O-B that paid the bills and was so-called secure.

You know, one of those good county or state jobs folks used to talk about. “Man, he’s got it made; he works for the state.” Or truck driving, being a welder, doing hair or any of a hundred such occupations that would consistently “pay the bills.”

And there were also those who got caught up in the bright lights that attracted our “starved egos,” as Dr. John Henrik Clarke puts it. Looking good, rapping hard and engaged in “flavor of the month” relationships. Going nowhere except in our own limited minds.

No matter where we stopped in the educational process and no matter what the reason, we all have more within us to share and to learn.

We can be and do more, but what does it take to awaken the “authentic” fire that once burned when we were young or even in our adulthood? No matter the reason – and for each of us it will be different – it’s never too late to change “what if” to “maybe” to “I’ll give it a try.”

I have spoken with more than one middle-aged man, depressed and disillusioned, because their lives ran off track and landed them in the welcoming arms of the judicial system. “My life is ruined,” I’ve heard them say. “Man, you’re just getting started; that was merely one chapter in the book of your life,” I tell them. Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing a father who represents the “never give up” spirit it takes to keep yourself moving forward as a student of life.

We can be and do more. It’s never too late to change “what if” to “maybe” to “I’ll give it a try.”

Travis Washington, age 59, told me that it was time for a change and that the Lord guided his path, not just back to school, but showed him how his life’s journey could benefit many others. Mr. Washington is a multifaceted man who served in the military and is a father of a blended family. He shared with me that he got caught up in many of the “traps” of life and, while participating in a substance abuse recovery program, first got the notion that maybe he could help others challenged with similar issues. Now, several years after that “ah ha moment,” as Oprah calls it, he has enrolled in college for the first time since 1975.

His short term goal is to complete the AODS certification requirements allowing him to work as a substance abuse counselor. He is deeply motivated to help others, and his own family is already impacted by the positive steps he is taking. His wife and daughter are both talking about re-entering school and moving forward with their educations.

Travis has been a super star all his life – musically inclined, creative writer, confident public speaker and leader of people. Now he’s creating his own stage to show the world what he has to offer. As he says, “I thought I couldn’t do it, but I stepped out on faith and the Lord has guided my path.”

Travis is creating his own stage to show the world what he has to offer. As he says, “I thought I couldn’t do it, but I stepped out on faith and the Lord has guided my path.”

It’s time for all of us as fathers to “step out on faith” and take a chance to be more than we were yesterday. We have nothing to lose but time – and that’s passing with or without us. Travis is doing it; so can we.

It’s time for all of us as fathers to “step out on faith” and take a chance to be more than we were yesterday.

Morris Turner, the father of two sons, ages 39 and 35, was a community worker with the Black Panther Party. Over the past 45 years he has worked with children and young people in a variety of settings, including as preschool teacher, career counselor, family mentor and sports coach. He is also an author and recognized researcher in the area of African American settlement in the United States, but his greatest pleasure today is learning to be a good grandpa. He can be reached at missnpages@comcast.net.

A man carries a baby after the Superdome was evacuated following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. – Photo: U.S. Navy

The New York Times sent Gary Rivlin to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, days after the storm, to cover Katrina as an outsider. While most people were looking backward in those weeks trying to figure out what went wrong, Rivlin’s instincts had him looking forward “to the mess ahead. Eventually the flood waters would recede. How would New Orleans go about the complicated task of rebuilding?” This carefully researched, beautifully written book describes that process from then until now.

“Katrina: After the Flood” could have been several books. There is the story of Alden McDonald and his family. It is a personal and intimate look at the backgrounds of the couple, Rhesa and Alden: their courtship, their relationship, their values and goals in life, the creation of Liberty Bank and the deft creativity and business acumen that allowed it to survive and re-emerge vitally after the storm.

Rivlin’s instincts had him looking forward “to the mess ahead. Eventually the flood waters would recede. How would New Orleans go about the complicated task of rebuilding?”

Woven throughout is also the story of Ward “Mack” McClendon and his fight, despite having lost everything personally, to save the Lower Ninth Ward. The Lower Ninth Ward Village Center, as McClendon called the abandoned building he and many volunteers fixed up, just kind of happened. “I never did anything to spread the word,” McClendon says. “People just found me.” The center housed religious groups, college organizations and groups of high school students for years.

In a photo taken Sept. 14, only two weeks after the storm and before the government or major charities had done anything but make life hell for Black New Orleanians, this sign set the tone for Common Ground. Inside the converted mosque were donated supplies, from toiletries to baby food to batteries, plus medics dispensing health care – all for free. A media center was being set up. It should be noted that Malik Rahim didn’t give a preference to white volunteers. The initial call for volunteers, made by Malik via the Bay View, drew Blacks first, but they were forced back at gunpoint at a checkpoint coming into Algiers. The first truck, loaded with Black medical volunteers and supplies, had to return all the way to Atlanta. Whites were allowed through, however, and from then on, they recruited their friends. – Photo: Bradley, Indymedia

Malik Rahim, a former Black Panther, is another grassroots organizer who played a key role in Ninth Ward recovery. The Common Ground Relief Collective, which Rahim co-founded days after the storm, gutted 3,000 homes, businesses and churches in the Ninth Ward. Rahim started by hosting slews of mostly white volunteers across the river at his Algiers home. He set up a health clinic at an abandoned storefront mosque. “The little clinic that could” – the Common Ground Health Clinic – The New York Times declared two years after Katrina, is an oasis in a “shattered health care system.”

In early September 2005 white vigilantes were patrolling the streets in Algiers. Rahim says he saw bodies of several Black men who had been shot. Police had set up checkpoints at the Algiers-Gretna border. It was a perilous time. “My own version is that New Orleans was on the verge of a race war back then,” Rahim said. “What stopped it was that we had young white kids that came down and did what nobody else would do.”

The immediate post-storm story of what happened Uptown revolves around Lance Hill, a white activist-turned-scholar-turned Katrina super-activist. He dispensed practical help both uptown and downtown on his bicycle and from his large, beat-up car, delivering water, checking on the elderly and caring for people’s pets. He reported on what the Audubon Place blue-bloods were plotting “behind enemy lines” as Rivlin calls the chapter about Hill.

Rahim set up a health clinic at an abandoned storefront mosque. “The little clinic that could” – the Common Ground Health Clinic – The New York Times declared two years after Katrina, is an oasis in a “shattered health care system.”

In addition to the drama of the storm, the flood, and the evacuation or sheltering in place of the people he follows, Rivlin also tells the political story about Mayors Ray Nagin and Mitch Landreau, police chiefs Eddie Compass and Ronal Serpas. Nagin’s advisor, Sally Forman, is quoted extensively as she tried to bring balance to the public image of a mayor who many thought was coming unhinged. Her husband Ron Forman ran against Nagin for mayor in 2006.

Malik Rahim works with a Common Ground crew to gut a house to prevent the city from demolishing it. Gutting involves tearing out the flood-soaked and rotting sheetrock, insulation and the like. This photo was taken March 14, 2007, over two years after the flood.

Rivlin gives a well-rounded description of Gov. Kathleen Blanco and businessman and Regional Transit Authority chief Jimmy Reiss, who was part of what Nagin called the “shadow government of New Orleans.” City Council President Oliver Thomas and Joe Canizaro, a wealthy white real estate developer and financial supporter of Nagin, figure in as well. Also, of course, there is George Bush and the FEMA bureaucracy and the many planners, developers, contractors and “visionaries,” each with their own agenda.

Schools, healthcare, housing, jails, boards, hurricane protection – everything was up for grabs. Rivlin deftly dissects every grab and attempted grab through the lens of race, economics, power and personality.

The genius of the book is that he balances these factors. He gives us the actual dialogue, so that the narrative has a kind of intimacy that allows the reader to feel that s/he is in the room as decisions are made. He quotes Canizaro as saying: “As a practical matter, poor folks don’t have the resources to go back to our city, just like they didn’t have the resources to get out of our city. So we won’t get all those folks back. That’s just a fact. It’s not what I want; it’s just a fact.”

Another story that Rivlin follows over the 10 years is about the affluent Wall sisters, Petey, Robyn, Contesse, Tangee and Cassandra. They personalize several variations on the New Orleans East experience with their close family ties, intergenerational obligations and differing feelings about how the East should come back. A large part of the family tension revolved around Cassandra’s decision not to come back to New Orleans at all.

Schools, healthcare, housing, jails, boards, hurricane protection – everything was up for grabs. Rivlin deftly dissects every grab and attempted grab through the lens of race, economics, power and personality.

Connie Uddo, a tennis instructor turned relief worker, provides the personal narrative for Lakeview and, later, Gentilly. “I feel like 90 percent of the homes I work on in Gentilly involve some kind of contractor fraud,” Uddo said. Her role as a second-responder evolved. In Lakeview it was more about community, whereas in Gentilly, it focused on individuals. Nobody seemed to mind that she was white.

After Katrina, police were told they could shoot looters. New Orleans Police Lt. Dwayne Scheuermann aims his gun on the Claiborne Overpass on Sept. 1, 2005, two days after the storm, while the people around him on the bridge are desperate for help. – Photo: Alex Brandon, New Orleans Times-Picayune

Rivlin’s depiction of the complexity and enormity of our post-Katrina problems – not just with our geography and infrastructure but also with our psychic, racial and social fabric – leaves many of us wondering how we ever dealt with them, albeit imperfectly. It also leaves us both angry and grateful for the help that we didn’t or did receive.

John Barry, author of “Rising Tide,” says of Rivlin’s book: “It’s important as a case study of both how not to handle a disaster and how to survive one. There are real lessons here.”

Today, 10 years out, most of us blessedly have retained just sound bites etched into our memories of public events and our own private Katrina stories. Rivlin’s book provides the historical context, fills in the blanks, and gives us the specific facts and figures to assist our historical memory.

We can thus assign a purpose and a meaning to this great catastrophe that we all lived through. We can assign a meaning and a purpose to the myriad ways each of us dealt with it. Only then can we take to heart those urgent lessons that Gary points to as we rebuild our lives and our city that were almost destroyed by the flood.

Rivlin’s depiction of the complexity and enormity of our post-Katrina problems – not just with our geography and infrastructure but also with our psychic, racial and social fabric – leaves many of us wondering how we ever dealt with them, albeit imperfectly.

Gary Rivlin, a journalist, is the author of five books. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, GQ and Wired.

Orissa Arend is a mediator, psychotherapist and author of “Showdown in Desire: The Black Panthers Take a Stand in New Orleans.” You can reach her at arendsaxer@bellsouth.net.

Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church and president of the San Francisco NAACP, denounces plans by a nonprofit formed by the church to develop and operate affordable housing at Frederick Douglass Haynes Gardens to now sell the development to speculators. He spoke at a news conference and rally outside Superior Court on Tuesday, July 28. – Photo: Paul Chinn, SF Chronicle

San Francisco –Third Baptist Church in San Francisco asked a San Francisco Superior Court judge today to stop the landlord of the Frederick Douglass Haynes Gardens – a 104-unit Fillmore development that is home to mostly Section 8 tenants – from selling the building to speculators.

The temporary restraining order request, filed in court by attorneys with Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP, asks a judge to provide injunctive relief against what appears to be another case of affordable housing at risk in San Francisco. An especially inflammatory email between two real estate brokers dated July 21, obtained by attorneys for the plaintiff, show that the currently affordable apartments are listed for sale and rents are expected to rise.

The email, from Joe Levy at Marcus & Millichap, a real estate brokerage, says the 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom units – each with one bath – are poised to fetch between $3,000 and $7,000 per month.

“Protecting San Francisco’s stock of affordable housing – in District 5 and citywide – is one of my top priorities,” said Board of Supervisors President London Breed. “The people of San Francisco must stand as one against those who seek to convert our limited affordable housing to market rate housing.

“Without a process that includes the residents and the community, the sale of this property should be stopped immediately! I’m working with Mayor Lee and the Mayor’s Office of Housing to address this situation. I want to send a strong message that this type of behavior is not acceptable in my district nor anywhere in the city.”

Third Baptist Church in San Francisco asked a San Francisco Superior Court judge today to stop the landlord of the Frederick Douglass Haynes Gardens – a 104-unit Fillmore development that is home to mostly Section 8 tenants – from selling the building to speculators.

In 1958, when the Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes, after whom Frederick Douglass Haynes Gardens is named, was pastor, NAACP President W.E.B. DuBois spoke at Third Baptist Church. Several large Fillmore churches were lost when the district, called Harlem of the West, was bulldozed to push Blacks out of San Francisco, and as a gesture of reparations, each was allowed to build a new affordable housing development in the neighborhood. Now that San Francisco is again determined to rid itself of Blacks, those developments are being taken over and lost to the Black community. Third Baptist Church is fighting back.

The church’s suit asks a judge to stop or slow the building’s landlord – Third Baptist Gardens, Inc. (TBG) – from selling the property to unknown real estate speculators. TBG, a separate entity from the church, is a nonprofit corporation that was started by the church in the 1960s – ironically, to improve housing affordability and prevent displacement.

Unlike much of San Francisco’s at-risk affordable housing, the Frederick Douglass Haynes Gardens is home to mostly Section 8 tenants – approximately 80 percent – who receive federal subsidies to help them afford the cost of their rent. It’s considered historically significant, too, to San Francisco’s African American community, who disproportionately face the harms of gentrification and displacement.

Attorneys for the plaintiff say that, as recently as yesterday, the property’s tenants weren’t even aware of the pending sale. “Adding insult to injury,” attorney Jonathan Holtzman said, “the property owners hadn’t told the tenants that they might be at risk of losing their homes.”

Despite the development having been started by the church over 40 years ago, the complaint alleges that the property’s landlord, TBG, has engaged in deceptive business practices as of late, risks violating its articles of incorporation, and jeopardized both the church’s longstanding interest in the property and the interests of its low-income tenants, many of whom are people of color.

London Breed

Beyond secretly listing the property for sale – in a 10-day timeframe, while ordering a broker to deny that the property has been listed – the complaint alleges that TBG has summarily ousted board members and that its executive director has hired family members for paid positions in an effort to consolidate power.

“Protecting San Francisco’s stock of affordable housing – in District 5 and citywide – is one of my top priorities,” said Board of Supervisors President London Breed.

The case is yet another clarion call for action to solve San Francisco’s affordable housing crisis and end the mass outmigration of Blacks from the city they’ve called home for many generations.

“Our clients are asking TBG to make a full and public accounting of the circumstances of this secret proposed sale,” attorney Louise Renne said. “Because there are two tragedies with this case: one of these 104 working families who are at risk and the larger issue of protecting San Francisco’s affordable housing safety net.”

“Listen to Me Marlon” is a documentary film by Stevan Riley that takes a candid look at the life, activism and work of the legendary, charismatic and mercurial film icon Marlon Brando, whose career spanned five decades. The late Brando narrates the film exclusively with sound taken from hundreds of hours of audio that he himself recorded privately over the course of 40 years.

Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire”

This documentary talks about Brando’s family life, with his alcoholic mother and abusive father, as well as the many women he loved and the nearly dozen multi-ethnic children that he sired. This masterpiece delves into the “method acting” techniques that he mastered from his mentor Stella Adler, eventually revolutionizing film acting in Hollywood.

“Listen to Me Marlon” takes you behind the scenes, with photos and archived footage of some of Marlon Brando’s most classic and popular movies, such as “A Street Car Named Desire,” “On the Waterfront,” which won Brando his first Oscar, “Mutiny on the Bounty” and “The Godfather,” to peep the passionate and dedicated actor behind the celebrity at work.

Brando’s radical political beliefs are also discussed in depth in the documentary, with archival footage showing Brando speaking at Black Panther Bobby Hutton’s funeral in Oakland in 1967 and refusing to accept an Oscar in 1973 for his role in the classic movie “The Godfather” to protest the way that Indigenous people are depicted in Hollywood.

“I was given by my mother a sense of the absurd,” said Brando. “She had false teeth. Once in a while, she’d laugh. While she was laughing her teeth would come off of her gums. The more I’d laugh, the more she thought it was funny, and we’d both end up laughing real hard,” explains Brando in one of the lighter moments of the film.

“My mother was an alcoholic. We lived in a small town and my mother was the town drunk. She began to dissolve and fray at the end.

“My father was a traveling salesman. I was making more in 6 months of work than he made in 10 years. He measured everything by money,” explained Marlon Brando, as he talked about his lifelong tumultuous relationship with his father. “He couldn’t understand how this nerdy son of his could possibly do that.

“My old man was tough. He was a bar fighter. He was a man with not much love in him. I would stay away from home, drinking and whoring all around the Midwest.

He proverbially turned lemons into lemonade.

“Listen to Me Marlon” is a documentary film by Stevan Riley that takes a candid look at the life, activism and work of the legendary, charismatic and mercurial film icon Marlon Brando, whose career spanned five decades.

“If I have a scene to play, and I have to be angry, it must be within you, trigger mechanisms that are spring loaded, that are filled with contempt about something. I remembered my father hitting my mother when I was 14.”

He goes on to describe how he uses his early childhood trauma in his acting. “Things that are extremely painful to you, you don’t want them in your consciousness, you wanna forget them. You could imagine having to go to some place every night and have to go through all of that. Get yourself upset. If you have to cry or to scream or to be ruined in some way, that’s work. That’s hard work.”

“In the ‘30s and ‘40s you had a certain kind of acting. You knew who you were going to get when you went to the movies: Gary Cooper, Bogart, Clark Gable, Crunchy Fruitloops. It was just like breakfast cereals; it was the same in every role – gestures of anguish and despair. And that kind of acting became absurd. The astounding thing that most people don’t realize is that all motion pictures today, all acting today stems from Stella Adler,” proclaimed Brando.

Brando as “The Godfather”

In this first person narrated documentary, it could be said that Stella Adler is the co-star of “Listen to Me Marlon” because of the influence that her “method acting” technique had on Marlon, and the amount of time that the documentary spent on describing her influence and techniques.

“I had never done anything in life that anybody ever said I was good at. She put her hands on my shoulders and said, ‘Don’t worry, my boy. I see you. The world wants to hear from you,’” said Brando describing Adler’s psychological effect on him.

“‘Don’t be afraid,’ she said. ‘You have a right to be who you are, where you are and how you are,’” said Brando.

“Be in a state of honesty up there,” said Stella Adler, “speak out the thoughts that are tormenting you.

“Reality – realness carried by an actor to achieve the truth – this is the most modern technique,” declared Stella Adler to an interviewer. “The play has nothing to do with words. You do not act words; you act with your soul.

“You have to constantly act. It is not important to defend your faults in the theater, it’s important to overcome them.”

Stella had studied in Paris with the great Russian teacher Constantine Stanislavski and brought back her experience and knowledge of this particular form of acting to her job at the New School of Social Research, which Brando attended.

“If I hadn’t had the good luck of being an actor, I don’t know what I would’ve been. I probably would’ve been a con man.

“Since I don’t do anything else well, and up until this time, I haven’t decided what else I would like to do, I might as well put all of my energy into being as good of an actor as I can,” said Brando in a frank, archived, black and white interview.

“The first movie I ever did was called ‘The Men.’ I played a paraplegic and lived in a hospital with paraplegics for three weeks. Physicality is a tough thing. I spent a lot of time studying everything that they do. I wanted to see how they got in and out of their chairs, the manner in which you crawled from one place to another. A paraplegic can do the most amazing things … races without their chairs. I saw guys walk on their hands. They could do one arm pull-ups. They could do everything,” said Brando.

“You have to know your character, putting yourself in a different state of mind – what they felt like, what their frustrations were knowing that they couldn’t have sex.

“At night, I think about it, dream about it, and I wake up being absorbed by it.”

In 1954, Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his role in “On the Waterfront.” An anonymous television reporter says, “You can bet that Marlon Brando’s impact on the world of movie acting will still be felt 500 years from now.”

Unfortunately, Brando did not feel the same way.

“When I saw the picture finally, I was so embarrassed, so disappointed in my performance. It’s a very strange thing, this business of storytelling. You don’t always know when you’re good. People will mythologize you no matter what you do.

In 1954, Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his role in “On the Waterfront.” An anonymous television reporter says, “You can bet that Marlon Brando’s impact on the world of movie acting will still be felt 500 years from now.”

Throughout “Listen to Me Marlon,” you could sense Brando’s love-hate relationship with acting and Hollywood.

“There’s something absurd about it, that people go with hard earned cash into a darkened room, where they sit and they look at a crystalline screen upon which images move around and speak. And the reason that they don’t have light in the theater, is because you are there with your fantasy.

“The person up on the screen is doing all the things that you wanna do. They’re kissing the women that you wanna kiss, hitting the people that you wanna hit, being brave in a way that you want to be brave. The audience will lend themselves to the subject. They will create things that are not there,” said Brando bluntly as he talked about winning his first Oscar.

“I know there are times when I did much better acting than that scene in ‘On the Waterfront.’ It had nothing to do with me. The audience does the work; they’re doing the acting.”

Today we have Pachino, De Niro and Nicholson, but before all of them, there was Marlon Brando, whom they studied.

“Get (the audience) on your time, and when that time comes and everything is right, hit ’em. Knock ’em over with an attitude, with a word, with a look. Be surprising. Figure out a way to do it that has never been done before.

“You want to stop that movement from the popcorn to the mouth. You want people to stop chewing. The truth will do that. Damn, damn, damn – when it is right, it’s right. You could feel it in your bones. Then you feel whole. Then you feel good,” says Brando as he describes his mindset as a master of his craft.

“It was pre-‘60s, people were looking for rebellion, and I happened to be at the right place at the right time, in the right state of mind. In a sense, it was my own story: rebelling for the sake of rebelling.”

In one clip, a magazine is shown, where the cover reads, “Could there have been Elvis without Brando?”

Brando with his Tahitian family, his third wife Tarita, his daughter Cheyenne and his son Teihotu

When Brando was a child, his father sent him to military school as a punishment for misbehaving. While there, he spent a lot of time in the library reading National Geographic magazines, and that is what piqued his interest in Tahiti. For most of his life, he had a love affair with the island nation. His first time going to Tahiti was during the filming of “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

“The Tahitians have the beauty of sleeping children. And when they awaken, they will awaken into the nightmare that the white man lives in – the nightmare of the want of things.”

This land of Brando’s serenity would later turn into a hell when, decades later, one of his daughters commits suicide on the island.

“’Mutiny on the Bounty’ was perhaps my worst experience at making a motion picture. I never want to do that kind of picture again, as long as I live.

“How delicate it is to create an emotional impression. They cover up their sense of inadequacy by being very authoritative, commanding things. Don’t ever be intimidated by directors,” says Brando in describing this experience. “There was a great deal of friction, confusion and desperation, disappointment and disgust. There were fist fights.

“All my life I questioned why I should do something. I had contempt for authority. I was resistant. I would trick it. I would out maneuver it. I would do anything rather than be treated like a cypher.”

A reporter’s voice is spliced into this segment of the documentary to give context to how the big studio execs and their media maids felt about Marlon’s behavior on set. “He’s been called a supreme egotist, uncooperative, temperamental …”

Brando responded in an interview on live television: “Well, everybody has to have a whipping boy, and certainly the studio – they have to find a scapegoat. They have to find somebody. I was the most logical person.”

In a very unguarded comment, Brando says, “I didn’t make any great movies; there aren’t great movies. In the kingdom of the blind, the man with one eye is king. There are no artists. We are businessmen and merchants, and there is no art. Agents, lawyers, publicity people – it’s all bullshit. Money, money, money – if you think it’s about something else, you’re going to be bruised.”

During the segment that shows Brando giving solidarity to the Black stuggle in “Listen to Me Marlon,” he laments about the effect of the Martin Luther King speech that has since been titled “Beyond Vietnam” on him, as well as the assassination of the civil rights icon.

“In the speech he says, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to get there with you, but I’m not afraid tonight.’ God, I still remember that. Ah Jesus, that’s terrible. He knew he was gonna die.”

Lil Bobby Hutton, the youngest member of the Black Panther Party, was shot down in cold blood by Oakland police two days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in April 1968. Thousands filled the shore of Lake Merritt for a memorial rally, where Marlon Brando spoke. Here he is at the rally with Panthers cofounder Bobby Seale.

In the late ‘60s, Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda are credited with helping to bring the Black Panther Party and their politics to a mainstream white audience. In 1967, Brando gave a speech at the funeral of 17-year-old Black Panther Bobby Hutton who was unjustifiably murdered by Oakland police.

“That could’ve been my son lying there and I’m going to do as much as I can. I’m going to start right now to inform white people of what they don’t know. A white man can never dig it, ‘cause he never dug it, and I’m here to try to dig it.”

White young people are shown protesting Brando’s involvement in the Black Liberation struggle with picket signs that said “Marlon Brando is a nigger-loving creep.”

Another point that points to Brando’s character is when a television interviewer asks Marlon straight up, “Have you considered the fact that you might suffer bodily harm yourself?”

Brando thinks for a second, looks around, smiles and says, “Yes.”

In “Listen to Me Marlon,” he puts his politics out there for everybody to see. “I’m standing up, not for the Black race; I’m standing up for the human race. All men are created equal.” This was a huge statement coming from Hollywood’s golden boy at the time when Black people were fighting against Jim Crow laws and police terror.

In the late ‘60s, Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda are credited with helping to bring the Black Panther Party and their politics to a mainstream white audience.

“This is life and death. This is real life. We’re talking about human relations. We’re talking about human rights, racial issues, and that’s why I care. “

Besides Brando’s work in the field of human rights, I was most familiar with his film “The Godfather.” So I was glad that this movie in particular was talked about in the documentary.

“It was demeaning to do a screen test, but I needed a part at that time. I wasn’t sure I could play that part either. The greatest fear an actor has is fear and how you’re going to be judged. I don’t want to get caught trying, I don’t want to get caught being afraid, that my story, my pretending, my lie is gonna be disbelieved. That’s gonna steal your performance away. You have to look at the cameraman, the producer working in the corner and say, ‘I don’t give a fuck about any of you,’” says Brando about his award winning role in this classic film.

“Putting on a mask, building a life, little by little I got into this part and then suddenly something gets a hold of you. What is the nature of criminality? Where does it come from?

“We have this antiquated belief in the myth of good and evil. I don’t believe in either one of those. And I thought it would be interesting to play a gangster, and not from the point of view that he was the bad guy, but that he was a very gentle hero.

“If I were brought up in that society, I’d be like them. In certain circumstances you could do the same thing,” said Brando in a moment of truth.

“Listen to Me Marlon” is a very rich film that documents the life of one of America’s first rebellious enigmatic movie stars. A lot of time during the documentary is dedicated to Brando’s work with Native Americans, his playboy love life, as well as the drama with his children that left his son serving a 10 year prison bid and daughter Cheyenne dead.

I learned a great deal of historical information and was given incredible insight into the inner workings of movie making as well as life, from a man who hasn’t taken a breath in over 11 years. I guess this immortality speaks to the beauty of the art form.

One of my favorite quotes in the film is when Brando discusses his financial interest in filmmaking. “I’m interested in making enough money so that I could say ‘Fuck you’ to money, but that’s all.” I can definitely relate to that sentiment.

This is surely a must-see documentary for everyone who is a lover of cinema, Hollywood, rebelliousness, youth, activism and passion.

If we are to survive in the 21st century, we’ve got to get back to who and what we were, not what each of us is destined to be individually. Because in the 21st century, people are moving forward collectively throughout the world. It is the only way we are going to resolve the many problems that plague us as a people.

I introduce this manifesto to all New Afrikans (i.e. Blacks) and any human beings who are SERIOUS about changing the inhumane living conditions that we see the people being subjected to in oppressed, impoverished communities throughout Amerika. It is crucial that we assess our conditions based on what is in our power to do, opposed to what someone can do for us.

We are not beggars, nor are we a weak people. We are simply a people under attack, and our contradiction is how we respond to these attacks. For far too long, we have allowed our lives to be in the hands of others – intellectuals, politicians, pastors, celebrities and professional, well-to-do New Afrikans – when it’s obvious that they have failed us tremendously.

The NAACP, Urban League, Rainbow Coalition, National Action Network and countless other New Afrikan organizations have allowed the local, state and federal governments and corporations to economically deprive our communities and incarcerate our children and adults by the millions who are only trying to survive under inhumane living conditions in extreme poverty in these Amerikan shanty towns and ghettos. And many of these New Afrikan organizations use the New Afrikan peoples’ contradictions to advance themselves but don’t invest one penny of their money into the New Afrikan communities. All they provide is lip service.

It is crucial that we assess our conditions based on what is in our power to do, opposed to what someone can do for us.

Here is a clear example of the greed and selfishness of wealthy New Afrikan people: In 1980, Robert (Bob) Johnson started Black Entertainment Television – BET – and ran it from 1980-2006. The New Afrikan people supported his business idea, turning it into a billion dollar business that he started with $15,000.

The New Afrikan people made it what it was, although it broadcast a lot of stereotypical images and characteristics that exploit New Afrikan people. The good programming promoted loving, enlightened music and social issues in the hood. It challenged the powers that be and honored our people for their accomplishments and talents and service to their communities.

However, greedy Hollywood bigwigs kept Bob Johnson in debt in order to control BET. They overpowered Bob and picked exploitive advertising. These capitalist oppressors blocked Bob from soliciting advertising in the New Afrikan business community to support BET – advertising that could have rightfully paid for the programming and benefited the New Afrikan community.

This is why we were watching advertising that was sexually explicit – promoting sexual enhancement pills or lubricants for men and women. The real money in the advertising industry shut Bob out, and that denied him the funds to produce quality programming. So Bob wasn’t able to expand, being in debt all the time.

For far too long, we have allowed our lives to be in the hands of others – intellectuals, politicians, pastors, celebrities and professional, well-to-do New Afrikans – when it’s obvious that they have failed us tremendously.

He couldn’t pull in more suitable investors, especially with the New Afrikan church on his back, so he went further into debt. See, our oppressors don’t want us to have anything that they don’t have control over.

BET afforded New Afrikans a voice, no matter how small, where young people got to express themselves and show their creativity and talents, because Bob allowed them to drop off their product, and he would showcase their work on BET.

Mr. Johnson sold out without a fight for the people, which could have been a very good learning experience for New Afrikans in this country as to how the 1 percenters economically bully the little guy in order to maintain control over everything. It’s safe to say that Mr. Johnson would have lost, but to fight back against bullies sometimes is better than giving in!

After gaining control of BET, the new ownership reinvented just about everything that Bob wanted to do for BET. It’s important to know that the capitalists pooled their monies to purchase BET, MTV, VH1 and immediately did away with all hip hop videos and the culture of hip hop in the media from a New Afrikan perspective. They also purchased Telemundo, Telefutura and Univision, taking control of Spanish programming as well.

“Kill Yourself” – Art: Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

Mr. Johnson sold out for $3 billion and was able to pay off his creditors. It was reported that he and his ex-wife walked off with a billion dollars! I often wonder what happened to all those music videos that were contributed to BET for 20 plus years.

Based on how loyal the New Afrikan people and their communities were to Bob Johnson and his ex-wife, one would think that they would have at least invested something in the oppressed New Afrikan community, creating jobs for those who helped them turn $15,000 into $3 billion. This is what I mean by how the rich use the New Afrikan people to advance themselves at the peoples’ expense.

Therefore, we “poor oppressed people” will control our own fate from now on.

Note that we don’t hold any ill feelings against our people for what they did and didn’t do, because we were all trapped in a vicious cycle of violence based on our ignorance, doing everything contrary to our community development. We will be pressing forward from here on, holding everyone accountable for their lack of dedication and commitment to our struggle, especially the pastors, politicians, celebrities, intellectuals and all New Afrikan organizations claiming to work for our interests.

We “poor oppressed people” will control our own fate from now on.

Our first action will be to identify all New Afrikan politicians in our communities, who are supposed to be working for our interests. We hold them responsible for why our tax dollars are not being directly put back into our communities and what actions are they taking to ensure that these monies are making their way back to our communities.

Our second action will be to identify all the non-profit New Afrikan, civil and human rights organizations who claim to work for us locally and nationally. We hold them responsible for why they are not filing civil lawsuits against local, state and federal government officials and corporations for racially discriminating against New Afrikan communities and for joining in an economic conspiracy to deprive us of a right to life, rerouting funds away from New Afrikan communities.

Our third action will be to identify pastors and their congregations to assess the money that’s being collected and generated in these New Afrikan churches, especially these mega churches, in or around our communities. We want to see what percentages are being invested into our communities, locally, in respect to businesses, schools and financial support for families.

Our fourth action will be to call out New Afrikans who are living way beyond their means, who can easily invest in our people and communities. We want nothing for free from anyone, but we want the right to know who cares and who doesn’t care about our people suffering in these substandard living conditions. This way each would be afforded the opportunity to contribute. Because it makes no sense for over $1 trillion to supposedly go through our hands annually and we can’t find a way to take care of our people.

Our fifth action will be to assess every public school in our local area, and if our children are not receiving an adequate education or if the school environment is deplorable, then we will remove all of our children out of these schools and demand that the schools be closed immediately. How can we expect our children to do better when we send them to run-down, unsafe and inadequate educational institutions? And we won’t return our children to these schools until the problems are fixed. We can educate our own children.

Our sixth action will be to assess the mental and physical health of each and every individual in our local area by literally assigning an individual to each block to evaluate and educate our people about psychic trauma, while identifying those who are suffering in our communities. We know that where there are humans, there are caretakers. Plus we have seen enough of our people suffering to know whether they need help or not. And those that do, we intend to help them.

Our seventh action will be to bring all the strong, able minds and bodies together in our communities to take up responsible roles in helping to rebuild our communities. Each strong individual will be assigned to groups in order to bring them around to what we are doing to build our communities back up. Our goal is to have everyone mentally, physically and spiritually sound.

Our eighth action will be to establish collective exercise every day at certain times chosen by our community leaders. We will all do the same exact exercise. The objective is to bring about collective cohesiveness – harmony – amongst our people. If your work schedule is not in line with our daily exercise, then you can join the after-work exercise, which will be at night.

Amerika has worked a mojo on us: Our people are suffering from obesity, but we can fix this and heal 85 percent of our people from this disease. The exercise will be easy enough that anyone in their 60s can do it. Physical health is crucial for sustaining us as a people.

Our ninth action will be to empower every mother and father in the community, especially the ones who have an alcohol or drug problem, by holding them accountable to their sobriety, in order for us to help them be responsible to their children and to themselves. But our motto will be that we are all mothers, fathers and role models to our children.

Our 10th action will be to build a propaganda machine through social media where our young, savvy, politically-inclined New Afrikan brothers and sisters can protect our people from malicious, racist attacks and the “boot lickers” who tend to criticize and manipulate words in order to serve the capitalist exploiters’ interests against the peoples’ interests.

We also agitate against any New Afrikans who promote anti-New Afrikan sentiments in the media, such as TV, that fuel Black-on-Black hatred, especially individuals who are doing it to sell a reality show where they consciously go at each other to be accepted by their white slave masters for a small fee and 15 minutes of fame at the peoples’ expense.

Our 11th action will be to establish safety and security throughout our community, where there will be individuals responsible for protecting the people and property of the oppressed. Too often we take for granted that there are predators about, preying on our people internally and externally. We want to make sure that our people are safe and secure 24/7.

Our 12th action will be to buy up as much property in our community as possible, because we want to own every apartment complex and house in our community. Therefore, if our people fall on hard times they don’t have to worry about losing their home or apartment. By having control of the property in our community, we secure a roof over our head. We do this by pooling our resources.

Our 13th action will be to rebuild the New Afrikan family by taking in suitable New Afrikan men and women or whoever your love interest is, children to elders. We want the community to be populated with productive members of society. We also know that we have an unfortunate situation, due to the disproportionate gap between men and women in our community.

Therefore, a lot of these relationships will have to be based on the woman’s needs being met in every way, because we have to be realistic about our reality. But what we don’t want is betrayal, which breeds disunity. It’s all about us reclaiming who we are as a people. We will always be inclusive of all human beings, but we have to build the type of communities we want for our people.

Our 14th action will be to protect our interests. We are too talented a people to be living in such poverty. We protect our talent by making sure that our young people are being nurtured as they develop their talents. The reason a lot don’t come back to the community that they were raised in is because of the state of our community.

Hell, the violence alone will be enough to keep someone who is filthy rich away. Our communities have to be safe havens for our talented people, because too often we see our brothers and sisters compromised by the vultures whose whole objective is to make money off of our people. This is stealing money out of the community.

Imagine if all of the money made over the years from sports, baseball, basketball, football, track and field, gymnastics, gospel, R&B, jazz, poetry, hip hop, graffiti, rap, emceeing, break dancing etc. would have been invested into our communities. Imagine!

Then there are the exceptional minds we have in our communities. We have to realize that the people are the value. Therefore, we have to protect our people whether they’re talented or not. When our people leave our community to pursue their career, we want them to be dying to get back to their communities.

Everyone has used our young people to build their economic power, while leaving them destitute. Look at the music that originated with us – some of our own people can’t even sing their own songs they wrote because they don’t own them. Unfortunately, the music industry, as ruthless as it is, has been able to shut them out, while cultivating other talents that were copies of them but look nothing like them.

We are still a talented people; therefore, we can always produce the talent but we have to learn from the Billie Holidays, Muddy Waters and James Browns – the list is long. This time we keep total control of our work. We sell out for no amount of money that takes away our right to express ourselves how we choose to. We want 100 percent ownership of our work – we pay you, not you us!

Our 15th action will be to establish a “decolonization program” throughout our communities to re-educate our people to who they truly are, by educating them to their historical contradictions that are the true cause of their reality today. As descendants of slaves, who grew up on slave plantations as a domestic colonized nation (DCN), none of our people will be truly free mentally until they have gone through a decolonization program, which will give them their true history as to who they are and where they come from.

The decolonization program will also give them a socio-cultural, political and economic understanding as to how we New Afrikans see ourselves evolving in the world based on our ideology, not some flawed belief that derived out of a malignant subculture. Free your mind!

Our 16th action will be to carry out each action with love and respect for our people who’ve suffered enough. Therefore, under no circumstances do we disrespect or use any form of violence against any of our people who refuse to cooperate with our initiatives. If they’re not with it, we use their family and friends to bring them around, especially their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts.

It is our sole responsibility to bring as many of our people to the table as possible, in order to fight for our right to exist and for self-determination. Our people suffer daily and our objective is to help them, not to hurt them.

Our 17th action will be to reconnect women and men with suitable partners from the inside with the outside. We want every man and woman incarcerated to have a partner to come home to, and we will establish a program that will strengthen relationships of sound commitments between the two of them. Here we will work towards bringing our people home to be productive members within our communities with their chosen partner.

Rebuilding the family unit is crucial for community development. We cannot afford to get caught up in the incarcerated stigma game, where we allow our people to be demonized simply for being incarcerated. Our situation demands that we claim all of our people, leaving no one behind. The local, state and federal governments have over-prosecuted our people throughout Amerika in racist judicial institutions. We build to end our peoples’ suffering.

Our 18th action will be to hold anyone coming to prison for crimes and abuse against the oppressed people accountable once they enter the prison system. We will do this by implementing our non-violent approaches, such as ostracizing them from our New Afrikan prison collective and having them pay for any damages caused by their actions, if repairable, going through an aggressive decolonization program, apologizing for any transgressions.

But for acts of murder against the oppressed poor people of our community, we establish in each community: If any son or daughter commit a murder against the people, they will lose all family support on the outside and are ostracized once they enter the inside or they will have to dedicate the rest of their lives to the peoples’ struggle, in order to get back in favor with the people. Each prison class will be responsible for establishing such a principle inside each of their respective communities and prisons.

Now we understand that our communities are plagued with violence, but 95 percent of this violence is the senseless killings of our people. We aim to end this violence against our people. We want it to be widely known that to transgress or to exploit violence against the oppressed comes with grave consequences.

This is why the community has to stay tied to the inside, so that they can expose those who violated the people in the community. Although the consequences are grave, none are violent – we have no violent form of punishment, because all it does is add to the cycle of violence.

Our 19th action will be to build and manufacture our own that is within our power to do so. We will seek out and call on New Afrikans and others who have the professional skills to teach us how to rebuild and manufacture on our own. Those who are friends and supporters of the New Afrikan people will always be treated with the utmost respect and love.

We don’t care what color they are or where they come from. Whatever they can teach us and assist us with we will accept graciously, and we will pay them for their services afforded to us. Our objective is to get to a place where we can rebuild our families and communities toward becoming independent.

Our 20th action will be to develop a think tank to critically analyze and assess our internal and external contradictions in and out of prisons. This way we are always assessing our situations and developing ways to solve our problems before they materialize. Each and every individual in the think tank has to have strong ties to the community. It can’t be an external think tank but a grassroots one, for and by the people.

Our 21st action will be for every poor New Afrikan family in Amerika to adopt one poor family on the continent of Afrika or in the Afrikan diaspora who are descendants of Afrikan slaves, living in subhuman conditions, because some of us here in Amerika at times negate that our struggle is both national and international. We also happen to be disconnected, which is understandable based on our struggles here in Amerika, but we have to get back to doing what is meaningful and beneficial to our people.

We spend money unwisely, money that can literally help our people out of very horrible living conditions. For example, when we purchase something such as a pack of cigarettes, jewelry, excessive shoes and clothes, which we tend to do socially on a regular basis, we have to realize that these monies can make the difference between life and death for our Afrikan brothers and sisters in many places throughout the world.

In undeveloped countries, our people are living on 50 cents to one dollar a day, so money becomes very valuable to someone living in more dire conditions. Now this doesn’t mean that we are well off, because we are far from it. Our poverty is just as real as theirs overseas, but we are dealing with a different level of poverty.

Theirs happens to be an extreme case of poverty, where they are deprived of water, food and housing. This is why you have just about every oppressed group living in Amerika of all races sending back money to their mother country. This will allow us to rebuild new bonds with our people who are suffering all over the world, while helping them out at the same time.

Unfortunately for us, our situation is a bit different due to our historical contradiction, i.e. slavery, where we were cut off from our ancestors and our mother country. Therefore, we will establish a direct line of communication with our adopted families. This way we will avoid the scams and cons out there lurking about.

The People of Family Services – PFS – will be responsible for laying out the functional applications for each of these 21 initiatives in this manifesto. Who are the People of Family Services? They are incarcerated New Afrikan prisoners who are politically conscious – jailhouse lawyers, political prisoners, prison activists etc. – men and women who are committed and dedicated to the rebuilding of the New Afrikan people, families and communities as well as other oppressed human beings on the planet. They are held in modern day slave plantations – prisons – all over Amerika.

It should be clear that it is up to us, the poor, who suffer day in and day out each and every day of our lives. To the mothers and the fathers whose sons and daughters are being gunned down in the streets throughout Amerika, the young innocent brothers and sisters out on the streets of Amerika struggling in these impoverished conditions in hoods called the ghetto, or the grandmother who’s taking care of her grandbabies on pennies, or the drug user, alcoholic or dope pusher, pimp, gangster, hustler, welfare recipient, homeless, prostitute, strippers and the incarcerated, we call on you to be the leaders of your own liberation.

It should be clear that it is up to us, the poor, who suffer day in and day out each and every day of our lives. We call on you to be the leaders of your own liberation.

We know that no one in a suit and tie is trying to get their knees dirty nor are they in these streets willing to address the ongoing poverty and despair that we face daily in our lives. Therefore we’ve got to do this ourselves, just as we’ve pulled up all the energy that has allowed us to survive thus far in these streets and prisons.

As I previously said, many generations have been lost and the same song keeps playing over and over. It’s time for some new grimy tunes that the people can feel, tunes that set the mood for real change for the people who are directly affected by the state sponsored oppression of our people.

This is a poor peoples’ movement. The Happy N_____s living in their mansions, driving their Benzes, have no concern with the peoples’ suffering, and this is something we have to realize by all means. We don’t hate them for it, we just remember who they are.

And those who do step up to assist our struggle, we love and respect them for coming to their people’s aid.

The fight to save City College is taking place on two levels. We’re winning one but losing the other.

In the May 6, 2015, Walkout to Save City College, 200 students walked out of classes for a march, rally and flash occupation of the administration building.

Between the courts, the legislature and political pressure in the streets, City College has made significant advances in the struggle to retain accreditation, despite the attempts by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to shut the college down. Many elected and appointed city and state leaders have taken action to preserve City College as an accredited, accessible, community-friendly institution that serves all of San Francisco.

“All” means everyone, from people who don’t speak English to people who are ready to transfer to universities. City College is still open, still accredited, and still continues to provide excellent education to this broad population.

But on another level, the fight to save City College has taken a terrible toll. Enrollment has dropped from 100,000 students in 2008 to 65,000 this year. This means that over one third of the college’s student body has gone missing.

The fight to save City College is taking place on two levels. We’re winning one but losing the other.

In terms of full-time equivalent students (FTES) the college has lost 15 percent of its enrollment since 2010, because so many part-time students have gone missing. Even more tragic is that the price is being paid mostly by low-income, immigrant and “minority” communities – in San Francisco, “minorities” are actually the majority – the very people who use and need the college most.

According to a report commissioned by supervisor Eric Mar, comparing City College enrollment with enrollment in nearby community colleges – Peralta and San Mateo, for example – these students are not enrolling elsewhere to continue their education. Instead, they have just dropped out of college.

Bring back missing students

Bringing these students, and others, back into the classroom is a top priority for the CCSF Diversity Coalition, an organization formed by current students, faculty and department chairs to protect the ethnic studies classes and other social justice classes. These classes form an on-campus support network for students from Asian, Pacific Island, Pilipino, African-American, Latin-American and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender) communities. The Diversity Coalition also includes the Disabled Students Program (DSPS), Women’s Studies, the Veteran’s Center, the Labor and Community Studies program, the Human Sexuality program and Interdisciplinary Studies, which is the home of the new Middle Eastern Studies Program.

Lalo Gonzalez, a student in Latino Studies at City College and an organizer for the Save City College Coalition, says, “If low enrollment causes these programs to go down, it will mean no access for these already marginalized communities, no access to higher education – and more gentrification, more police violence, more poverty; all the problems that already trouble the city as a whole.”

San Franciscans have long bragged about City College as the largest community college in California and one of the oldest and largest in the U.S. We cannot let the forces of privatization and gentrification persuade potential students to drop their dreams of a college education. City College has always had faculty with an affinity for Black students and is respected as a nurturing school where Blacks can succeed.

In the long term, this is the worst possible thing that could happen. If the re-engineering of City College continues to happen by top-down changes forced from above, the college may devolve into a narrow transfer and workforce development-oriented institution, simply through cuts.

Low enrollments mean classes get cancelled, faculty get laid off, centers for student support close down, and programs that took many years to design and get approved just vanish. These passive-aggressive policies, which make their impact without requiring anyone to be accountable, are called “push-out” policies. Programs, faculty, classes and ultimately students are “pushed out” of the college.

“The crisis is not coming down evenly,” agrees Win-Mon Kyi, a founder of the Asian Student Union and an activist with the Diversity Coalition. “The push-out policies disproportionately affect immigrant and other vulnerable communities.”

The need to publicize a win: Saving Civic Center Campus

The two-level nature of the crisis is shown by what happened with the Civic Center Campus. This Tenderloin area campus, which focused on English as a Second Language (ESL) and pre-college Basic Skills classes, got wide publicity when it was suddenly closed last winter, leaving 1,650 already-enrolled students locked out of classes. Many people mistakenly believe that campus is permanently closed.

Bringing these students, and others, back into the classroom is a top priority for the CCSF Diversity Coalition, an organization formed by current students, faculty and department chairs to protect the ethnic studies classes and other social justice classes.

However, students and communities organized and fought back – and won. Students, along with community groups and the faculty union AFT 2121, organized demonstrations at two different locations: Civic Center and the Ocean Campus on Phelan Avenue. This put pressure on the college. Now the same Civic Center campus that was going to close will open in fall 2015, at a new location only a few blocks away, at 1170-1172 Market St.

But will students come back to it, after all the negative publicity? Will they understand that they can still enroll and take the same classes at the new location?

This is an example of winning to preserve the college, but losing if enrollment keeps dropping.

The numbers tell the story: Every student counts

Professor Lauren Muller, chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program, provided the following figures from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) website. They break down the crisis by community:

1,178 African American students went missing between 2011 and 2014. This is an enrollment drop of 27 percent, from 4,374 to 3,196.

1,415 Latino students went missing between 2011 and 2014. This is a drop of 14 percent, from 9,925 to 8,510.

3,067 Asian students went missing between 2009 and 2014. This is a drop of 21 percent, from 14,420 to 11,353.

131 Pacific Islander students went missing between 2009 and 2013. This is a drop of 32 percent, nearly one third, from 414 to 283.

1,218 Pilipino students went missing between 2009 and 2014. This is a drop of 34 percent, over one third, from 3,230 to 2,112.

These are typically students who need to live at home, use public transportation, and rely on the relatively low tuition of $46 per unit in order to find the ladders of opportunity that were so much more accessible to previous generations.

Many sensational media reports suggesting that the college is closing, or has lost accreditation, undermine the confidence of community members who have to decide if they will enroll. While they take a “wait and see” approach, enrollment drops and the college loses classes and faculty.

Ethnic Studies Programs: The product of an earlier fight

Ironically, ethnic studies programs themselves are the result of a fight. The first School of Ethnic Studies was founded at San Francisco State University as a result of the 1968-69 student strike, the longest student strike in the history of the United States. Like the fight to save City College, that strike was led by a coalition, that one called the Third World Liberation Front. While the language has changed, the parallel with the City College fight is that both were anti-racist coalitions led by students of color, supported by the faculty union, the community and various student groups.

The parallel with the City College fight is that both were anti-racist coalitions led by students of color, supported by the faculty union, the community and various student groups.

Fifty years ago, people had to organize and fight in order to get ethnic studies programs recognized as serious academic disciplines. Today, they are again under attack. In fact, this struggle is an example of the attack on them that is showing up in Arizona and elsewhere. The forced narrowing of the mission of community colleges like City College is part of the attack on all disciplines that do not produce immediate market value, especially ethnic studies.

People should know that City College courses in ethnic studies programs are for-credit social sciences transfer courses that articulate, for example, to the UC Berkeley course Ethnic Studies 21.

Community support and community need

Support for these classes still comes from the community. Professor Tarik Farrar, chair of African American Studies, says they provide a “home base” for a lot of students. “So many counselors have been laid off,” he says, “so we don’t have the support services that students used to rely on. But in these classes, they find a sense of history and community that makes it easier to survive. It gives them a sense of academic identity.”

An example of how students find a home base in ethnic studies programs that supports academic success comes from the Black Student Union and African American Studies program graduation ceremony last spring. There were 45 students who celebrated their graduation at that ceremony. Out of these 45, all except one had been accepted to transfer to four-year schools, mostly the California State University system, some to the UC system, and one was going to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. The one who was not transferring explained that he was “undecided.”

What are the “push-out” policies?

Policies that have the indirect impact of pushing students out of the college are called “push-out” policies. They may be officially intended to cut costs by, for example, laying off employees of the college, such as counselors. But without counselors, students who do not know how to navigate the complexities of going to college end up dropping out.

Policies that have the indirect impact of pushing students out of the college are called “push-out” policies.

Push-out Number One: The most bitterly resented push-out policies have to do with student debt payment. Students used to be allowed to carry a debt for tuition and continue to enroll in classes. This provided students with ample time to save enough money or find alternative means of financial assistance. The ACCJC claimed that over the years, City College had accrued between $5.2 and $7 million in debt owed by students to the college.

Other California community colleges carry student debt, but under statewide policy, colleges have the option to go after that debt in different ways. The City College administration chose the most draconian, punitive way.

“They said that this was a way to teach financial literacy,” says Gonzalez.

The most bitterly resented push-out policies have to do with student debt payment.

City College hired a third-party student debt conglomerate, Nelnet Business Solutions, to carry out this policy. If a student who owed money to the college enrolled for the next semester, that student would get robo-dropped (automatically dropped) several weeks before new financial aid checks come through – unless the student paid off the entire debt plus 20 percent of upcoming tuition by the deadline.

During the long struggle to save City College, it’s not just students protesting. Many faculty and staff members have joined them, often at their economic peril. – Photo: Lalo Gonzalez

Because of this, classes that opened with 20 students (the class minimum) would fall below 20 in enrollment, meaning that the class itself would get cancelled. A domino effect then takes place: Students get dropped, classes get cancelled, the remaining students rush to re-enroll in impacted classes but find it’s too late and can’t get in.

Sometimes they can’t find any class at a time or place they can get to, because so many of these students are adult working people and parents and do not have flexible schedules. Faculty get laid off: Over 300 part time faculty have lost their jobs.

Explains Lalo Gonzalez: “The average student debt was $200. When first implemented, the payment policy affected over 19,000 students. This past semester alone, 1,400 students were dropped just days before classes began, creating uncertainty and instability in several programs.”

“The current Payment Policy is unnecessarily aggressive and illogical,” Gonzalez explains. “If enrollment and financial stability are such a priority, then the administration should keep students enrolled to ensure millions in state funding – then create an equitable alternative to the current payment plan, one based on a student’s income rather than the current one-size-fits-all approach. The payment policy should uphold City College’s values of inclusion, not exclusion.”

Push-out Number Two: Another push-out policy has to do with the Board of Governors (BOG) tuition waivers, which instituted new restrictions last year. In the past, BOG tuition waivers were simply based on need, on family income. Now they are much more complicated.

Another push-out policy has to do with the Board of Governors (BOG) tuition waivers, which instituted new restrictions last year.

These new restrictions include Grade Point Average (GPA) minimums. The paperwork has become complicated and eligibility depends on multiple factors. Many students who are eligible do not even know that they can apply, says Lauren Miller, chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.

This is evidence of the damage caused by the absence of counselors in the wake of more than 30 being laid off. Counselors know how to navigate the system and their job is to help students with these very challenges.

Spending $6 million to collect $6 million: The bitter irony is that the “push-out” policies have an inverse effect on college finances, because each student who enrolls full-time (FTES, or full-time equivalent student) brings in $4,600 in state funding. So every time a student is pushed out because they owe $280, the college loses up to $4,320, not including the money City College pays to Nelnet.

If you multiply this by the 1,400 students dropped last semester, the loss is over $6 million to the college as a whole, which runs on a budget of about $349 million. This lost money would nearly cover the total student debt of $5.2 to $6 million mentioned above.

The connection with gentrification

Win-Mon Kyi makes the connection between loss of enrollment at City College and the struggle against gentrification. She says:

“Once the resources that are helpful to community are cut and classes that communities need are cut because of push-out policies, the ways that the communities learn about their history and become empowered are also in decline. It’s a vicious cycle. Everything that weakens City College weakens the community that is resisting gentrification.”

The fight to save City College is also the fight to save San Francisco as a truly diverse city, not just a gentrified and overwhelmingly white enclave.

Headlines have been made by the Ellis Act evictions, where whole apartment buildings in which people have lived for years under rent control have been cleared out, making way for steep increases in the cost of housing. San Francisco, already known as a city of billionaires, is replacing its working class and immigrant communities with people who can afford $2,500 for a one-bedroom in the Mission District. These are not the people who will take Basic Skills, ESL, Citizenship, or Ethnic or Labor Studies classes at City College.

In the vision of San Francisco as a city of high-wage tech, marketing and finance professionals, those classes are irrelevant. Why offer classes for people who can’t afford to live in San Francisco anyway? This vision streamlines City College down to workforce development classes that will produce employees for the building trades and public services like police and firefighters, plus transfer courses that track students into the university systems, relieving pressure on impacted lower level programs.

This means that the fight to save City College is also the fight to save San Francisco as a truly diverse city, not just a gentrified and overwhelmingly white enclave.

Helena Worthen is a former Peralta District part-time English teacher and author of “What Did You Learn at Work Today?” from Hardball Press. Joe Berry is a former City College Labor Studies teacher, author of “Reclaiming the Ivory Tower” from Monthly Review Press, editor of COCAL Updates and a member of the Executive Board of AFT 2121 (American Federation of Teachers Local 2121). Both are labor educators, retired from the University of Illinois and teaching in the trade union program fall 2015 at Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In Vietnam, they can be reached at joetracyberry@igc.org and through Helena’s blog at helenaworthen.wordpress.com.

On Monday, June 29, over a hundred working class families of Midtown Park Apartments were joined by community activists, concerned citizens and legal advisors for a rally in support of over 55 households whose rent increased 300 percent. The only such property that is owned by the City, Midtown’s original intent by then Supervisors Diane Feinstein and Ella Hill Hutch was to transform this complex into an equity cooperative – a promise that never materialized.

The residents of Midtown Park Apartments – shown here rallying on June 29 – have throughout their struggle shown exemplary unity, courage and perseverance. Though they’ve welcomed Asian and Russian neighbors in recent years, the residents are still predominantly Black as they were when Midtown was built in the 1960s for Black homeowners whose homes were taken by eminent domain by the City when, under Redevelopment, it bulldozed the Fillmore, then called Harlem of the West.

Joshua Arce, head of the civil rights non-profit Brightline, whose team spearheaded the Midtown fight, opened the rally along with Dr. Espanola Jackson. Dr. Jackson served on the Joint Housing Committee that dealt with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, and she continues to fight for affordable housing.

Vice President of Midtown Board of Directors Donald Griegs stressed that all rent increases in the past were done according to Rent Stabilization Board procedures and were acknowledged by the City.

Longtime resident Phyllis Bowie, a former U.S. Air Force officer and a community leader, revealed her harassment and covert investigation by Mercy Housing and the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) that led to her rent increasing to over $3,500. One of the many residents who were not given due process during income certification, she was further humiliated by an Office of Housing staffer email that reads “and we will raise her rent to market value. Maybe she’ll get the drift that her days at Midtown are over.”

Ms. Bowie appealed to Mayor Lee to look into the Midtown situation. Mayor Lee was at the forefront of the 1978 Chinatown rent strike.

Former Mayor of Atlanta and United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young passed on words of advice and encouragement to Midtown residents: “Freedom is a constant struggle. Keep faith, stay strong!” Very concerned about the current situation, Ambassador Young worked on a similar situation to the one that Midtown residents face with Dr. Martin Luther King in Chicago in 1966.

Over a hundred working class families of Midtown Park Apartments were joined by community activists, concerned citizens and legal advisors for a rally in support of over 55 households whose rent increased 300 percent.

Jaime Rush of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel has been instrumental in guiding residents bewildered by MOH and Mercy Housing Actions. Having represented San Francisco tenants for over 10 years, Ms. Rush described the situation facing Midtown residents as “the most compelling struggle,” condemning “egregious use of power against community that brings nothing of value for San Francisco.”

Midtown Board VP Donald Griegs speaks to the press at the June 29 rally and press conference. Over a hundred of the Midtown families attended.

Midtown is currently in no man’s land, where the City will not acknowledge that residents are protected by private rental laws but also won’t institute broad coverage that public rental tenants have in the city.

San Francisco County Sheriff Mirkarimi recalled Board of Supervisors Resolution 070858, which calls for no displacement, long-term affordability, tenant involvement and exploration of alternative ownership options at Midtown. Residents paid off the mortgage in 2007, and $55,000 was set aside by resolution to ensure the promise of Midtown becoming an equity co-op.

John Caldera, a U.S. Navy veteran and charter vice president of the SF Veterans Lions Club, is a longtime Midtown resident who is proud to call this community his home. This Olympic torch-bearer had one message to Mayor Ed Lee: “Let us stay!”

Rent increases commencing on Aug. 1 will lead to displacement and destruction of a beautiful community. Midtown residents ask your support in rent control protection for working class San Franciscans who make up the fabric of our society.

If you’re an attorney or a law student who is interested in this case, our legal advisors could use your help. Please email info@savemidtown.org with your information.

Rent increases commencing on Aug. 1 will lead to displacement and destruction of a beautiful community. Midtown residents ask your support in rent control protection for working class San Franciscans who make up the fabric of our society.

We issue a plea for everyone who ever publically mentioned the affordable housing crisis to step forward and be counted!

Whether you are talking about Sabrina Williams, Steph Curry, Gabby Douglas or Mayweather or if you take it back a few decades with people like Ali, JR Rider, Tyson, Ricky Henderson, Laila Ali or Sheryl Swoops, Black people in the United States have been dominating the showmanship of the billion dollar world of sports for a very long time.

Jameel Patterson, aka Tha #1 Neighborhood Sports Analyst, Jeremiah Khaleq and Brandon McGlothen want YOU to watch Let’s Talk Sports Nation every Saturday at 11 a.m. on Channel 29. Jameel and Jeremiah, both from Bayview Hunters Point, created the Facebook group, Let’s Talk Sports Nation, in 2010, and a year later, with 1,000 members already in the group, the TV show was born.

Since that is the case, we need to organize how we spend our money and speed up the pace when it comes to owning teams, stadiums, law offices, banks and other businesses at the top of the food chain surrounding the sports industry to build healthy economic relationships to manage what our athletes have allowed to grow. We are the ones in the spotlight, yet we are the ones that are the most exploited from the deals that are currently being made all around the sports industry and surrounding industries.

With this being said, it is also of primary importance that we begin to own our own sports media specifically, but media in general, so we can talk about what we want to talk about when we want to talk about it. San Francisco’s Let’s Talk Sports Nation, which comes on Frisco’s Cable 29 every Saturday at 11 a.m., is such a show.

This community favorite has broadcast over 100 shows and is primarily hosted by Jeremiah Khaleq and Jameel Patterson, aka Tha #1 Neighborhood Sports Analyst!!! I sat down to talk to Tha Sports Analyst about the history of Let’s Talk Sports Nation, its 50 rotating community co-hosts and their coverage of the sport of boxing. Check him out in his own words.

M.O.I. JR: Can you tell the people a little bit about how Let’s Talk Sports Nation started? When did it start?

Jameel Rasheed Patterson, Tha #1 Neighborhood Sports Analyst: Let’s Talk Sports Nation evolved from a Facebook group to a TV show in 2011. The actual Facebook group outdates it by a year.

The group had about 1,000 members by the time the concept to start a show evolved. It was so interactive that one day I mentioned to Jeremiah Khaleq maybe we should start a talk show with this and create a brand.

The group had people from across the nation: New York, Philly, Chicago, Los Angeles and mainly the Bay Area. A lot of people in the group even today haven’t met other people from the group. There are people I know in the group that I haven’t met in real life, people that give me encouragement on social media.

There are also people who only go to Facebook to go to the group. We are keeping the Facebook page open. I hope Zuckerberg takes notice! It just made sense that we could do something with this in the age of social media.

Jeremiah and I, however, already knew each other. We are both from San Francisco Bayview Hunters Point. We both have friends who have died; we both lost our mothers; we both are survivors.

M.O.I. JR: Who are your co-hosts on Let’s Talk Sports Nation?

Sports Analyst: The creators are Jeremiah Khaleq and myself. Jeremiah is the primary host of the general sports segment. I have a segment primarily for boxing ‘cause it’s not a sport that the media covers. In the era of social media this provides an opportunity for people to get into that field.

Stephen “ProFanatics” Greer, camera at the ready, covers local sports events, such as high school football, track, basketball and baseball. He’s another outstanding Bayview Hunters Point talent.

Stephen “ProFanatics” Greer covers local sports events, such as high school football, track, basketball and baseball. Tony Smith runs a podcast in conjunction with the “Real Delia Show.” Tony Smith and Stephen “ProFanatics” Greer are both from Bayview Hunters Point as well.

Now I must give a mention to featured members who aren’t the host but appear regularly and have potential to be popular on-air personalities: Joe Flood, Nee Nee Chatman, Kumasi Desh Creighton, Paulo Liwanag, Carlos Smith, Shannon “Thee Encyclopedia” Lowe, Ron Frede, Richard “Rich tha Ruler” Hargraves, pro boxer Galen Volpendesta, Zachary Ferguson (East Coast correspondent), Antone York, Quaran Belle. There are more but these have been reoccurring the most on the shows or podcasts along with myself, Tony Smith, Jeremiah Khaleq and Stephen “Profanatix” Greer.

M.O.I. JR: How do you pick your community guest hosts?

Sports Analyst: We have roughly 50 people that have been on the show and are options. The attraction is a lot of people think they know sports and we give the platform. We have rotation out of the 50, but we are of course open to more.

Some come on more frequently during certain seasons. Some are more football heads than basketball; most follow those two over baseball.

Boxing has its own base of followers that’s unattended to, and we fill a platform for that. We do one show on Thursday per week for 30 minutes. The boxing is recorded one Saturday of the month for one hour.

We give a platform to the ex-high school athletes in the community – the guys who didn’t make it, or did make it and didn’t last. Those kind of people usually are still involved in sports some kind of way. Ex-high school athletes are definitely high priority for the show.

We have had guest rappers like Killa Tay and Fly Mar on the show who are sports heads as well. We aren’t trying to be boxed in.

Sports transcends to a number of arenas. This helps us to use sports as a medium to shine a light on different aspects of the community.

M.O.I. JR: How does it feel to have done over a hundred episodes of Let’s Talk Sports Nation?

Sports Analyst: That feels like we have created something. That is a testament to what we have been doing over the years. We actually have a platform and a brand. I googled Let’s Talk Sports Nation and we pop up first with one of our shows.

M.O.I. JR: What were some of your best episodes personally?

Sports Analyst: The Jacka show stands out. Karim has always had a good show; he’s been on a couple of times. Floyd Mayweather’s brother called in once and former middle weight champion Montell Griffin has called in as well. Personalities like Joe Flood and Kumasi have always made for interesting shows.

Nee Nee Chatman, being a female who is very attractive and knows sports better than most men, always makes for a good show. The Donald Sterling show was good. Que Belle roasting Jim Harbaugh was memorable and the Stuart Scott tribute was eye watering.

Of the 100 Let’s Talk Sports Nation shows produced so far, a stand-out is the one that hosted the Mission High School football team, Aaron Coley, a pro boxer, and Kyle Anthony McGrath, who was making a sports documentary.

But the show that stands out was when we had the youth from the Mission High School football team, a pro boxer by the name of Aaron Coley and a brother by the name of Kyle Anthony McGrath, who was making a sports documentary.

We had so many people from our team there at once, it was a testament to the ecosystem we are building. Let’s Talk Sports Nation is actually reaching more young adults in the community than the NAACP.

M.O.I. JR: I see that you have had San Francisco boxer Karim Mayfield on the show as well as other boxers. Can you talk a little bit about your appreciation for the sport.

Sports Analyst: I was raised on boxing, and in the neighborhood we always had appreciation for guys that could throw ’em. Watching big boxing events was a tribal ritual growing up. I wanted to be a boxer but never knew of any gyms in the neighborhood or the city.

Much like Mexicans and Italians have respect for their fighters, I have the same for the great Black boxers. Growing up, Muhammad Ali was everybody’s hero, but for me I had to dig deeper and learn about other guys that came before him and after.

Actually, when I was a teenager, Mike Tyson was the guy for my generation, Larry Holmes got old, Leonard had just retired and Ali had been gone. Floyd Mayweather is the guy we grew up with. While a lot of guys chose the streets, we saw someone around our age grow to be the greatest boxer in the world.

I was raised on boxing, and in the neighborhood we always had appreciation for guys that could throw ’em. Watching big boxing events was a tribal ritual growing up.

For me watching Black men become champions in a world that seems stacked against us has always been fascinating. Karim Mayfield, Raquel Miller, Ashanti Jordan and Richard Hargraves are a testament. They are an example of alternatives to the streets.

Karim is from Fillmore; Rich, Raquel and Ashanti are from Hunters Point. Rich and Karim both came out the same gym, Straight Forward Club, under Ben Bautista. Both of those young men are like brothers, but they are from rival neighborhoods with long histories of beef.

We can stop future deaths in the neighborhood if boxing becomes the culture. After all, in the hood, we love guys that can throw ’em. In a tourist attraction city like San Francisco, it would only make sense to add that to the scene as well.

For me watching Black men become champions in a world that seems stacked against us has always been fascinating. Karim Mayfield, Raquel Miller, Ashanti Jordan and Richard Hargraves are a testament. They are an example of alternatives to the streets.

Ed Lee needs to look at that. We have a large Latino and Pilipino base in the Bay area, as well as African American. I see boxing as germane to curtailing Black on Black homicides.

M.O.I. JR: Are there any sports that you don’t cover? If so, why?

Sports Analyst: Hockey – we haven’t done anything in hockey. Hockey has a fan base but probably is the least favorite of the five major sports.

M.O.I. JR: What made you do an episode on our beloved late brother the rapper the Jacka, even though that was a community loss outside of sports?

Sports Analyst: We are media, and some things transcend, from Malcolm X to Tupac. Jacka meant so much to the era of people who watch our show, it would be negligent not to.

Hip hop is a definite bridge we look to cross as a media team as well. Stuart Scott just passed, and his career was a testament to how he bridged gaps media-wise between sports and hip hop culture. To some degree, we are bridges for hip hop and sports as well.

M.O.I. JR: What has it been like working with the San Francisco cable access channel?

Sports Analyst: Enlightening, very enlightening. It has provided us with the outlet to start this path. It’s very exciting to actually be involved in this social media age.

We are in a very creative environment. I saw youth about 12 years old doing a show. I said to myself that’s the kind of creative outlets that youths from the ghettos of San Francisco, Richmond, Oakland and so on need.

I get to see the mindset of other communities. They have workshops on crowdfunding , kickstarters and just creative ideas. It feels good to be in an environment away from the doom and gloom that is presented in Bayview. I truly believe the Bayview community should go in that direction and set up facilities there – Fillmore as well.

KPFA Evening News broadcast July 25, 2015

KPFA Evening News Anchor: Incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza has been declared the winner of Burundi’s presidential election, which the Burundian opposition boycotted. Despite the boycott, other candidates’ names remained on the ballot, and the Election Commission reported that Agathon Rwasa had won 19 percent, Nkurunziza 69 percent.

“Rwanda and the New Scramble for Africa, from Tragedy to Imperial Fiction” from Baraka Books, http://www.barakabooks.com/catalogue/rwanda-and-the-new-scramble-for-africa/

KPFA/Ann Garrison: The U.S. State Department said that the U.S. will “suspend its relationships with any group promoting instability in Burundi through violence.” Earlier, the State Department said that it did not support the May coup attempt in Burundi.

Robin Philpot: It is very important to go through what happened in Rwanda in order to understand what’s going on in Burundi today. In Rwanda, there was an invasion from Uganda, under Museveni, the man who is still in power.

There are no two terms applied to Mr. Museveni. These were regiments in the Ugandan army who crossed the border and invaded on Oct. 1, 1990. They occupied part of the country and then they pursued a guerrilla war to wear down the government.

Now it’s important to notice that this is an invasion. It’s an invasion of a sovereign country. And then the imperial powers, the British and the Americans, and to a certain extent the French – the French at that time we’re backing the Rwandan government – but they all agreed we have to sit down and negotiate with this invading power, which the government did not want to do because this was a foreign army.

KPFA: The United Nations Charter obliges the U.N. to take action against the violation of any member state’s sovereignty, but no one at the U.N. did anything to stop the Ugandan invasion and war of aggression in Rwanda from 1990 to 1994. Speaking in “The Deluge,” a documentary film in progress, Ugandan American journalist Milton Allimadi said that the Rwandan massacres of 1994 would not have happened if Uganda’s violation of Rwanda’s sovereignty had been stopped in 1990.

Milton Allimadi: Why is Rwanda being allowed to be invaded by Uganda? Uganda had actually launched a war of aggression in 1990. And I said it then – and I maintain it up to today – that had that war of aggression been dealt with and had it been halted, the mass killings typically referred to as the genocide of 1994 never would have occurred.

Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe – Photo: VOA

KPFA: This history is vivid in the memory of many today because Southern Rwanda could easily serve as a base camp for an army attacking Burundi, as southern Uganda served the army that attacked Rwanda in the 1990s. Former Burundian officers who attempted a coup d’état in Burundi in May have declared war on Burundi, and some are reported to be sheltering in Rwanda, where President Kagame has called on President Nkurunziza to step down.

The Burundian army has been engaged by troops near its northern border with Rwanda and this week Aljazeera reported that young men in Rwandan refugee camps are being recruited to join a rebel force to fight in Burundi. Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe, speaking to The Voice of America, said that the Burundian government had asked the Rwandan government to prevent any action threatening Burundi’s security.

Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe: We have received repeated reports that the alleged coup plotters of May 13, or some of them, are now in Rwandan territory. We have told the Rwandan government, through the appropriate channels, that this information does not reassure us and cannot leave us indifferent.

That is why we asked the Rwandan authorities, again through the appropriate diplomatic channels, to do everything in their power not only to prevent actions that would disturb the peace and security in Burundi – from their territory – but also to ensure that if our justice minister requests it, the Burundian coup plotters will be handed over to judicial authorities of Burundi.

Burundians line the streets of Bujumbura to celebrate the return of Burundian President Nkurunziza after a failed coup attempt in May. – Photo: AFP

KPFA/Ann Garrison: Rwanda and Burundi share not only a border but also the bi-polar majority-Hutu-minority-Tutsi demographic that has caused so much of the region’s history of mass violence.

The regional and ethnic tensions are no doubt real, the danger of mass violence great, but the African Great Lakes Region is so resource rich that the resource interests of the world’s industrial and military power elites are always in play behind the news.

Burundi has signed a lease to mine its nickel, cobalt and copper reserves with a Russian firm. And, like Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, Burundi shares a very geostrategic border with the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a vast storehouse of strategic mineral reserves.

So our initial question to the people is: “What does hostility mean to you?” During the process of constructing our position on this issue, a wise man was asked his thoughts on our “Agreement to End Hostilities” (AEH) and he stated:

“The inclusion of the agreement to end race-based hostilities to our struggle against California’s solitary confinement policies represents a qualitative leap of the insight of all prison nationalities and unites us beyond the fight to free ourselves from CDCR’s torture units. Its promise may foreshadow the triumph of prisoners’ quests for full human recognition.”

It has been said that the average human being should be able to hold his breath under water for at least two minutes without suffering any injury to the brain. But imagine being forcibly held under water for 10 to 40-plus years straight, without being able to come up for air!

It is impossible to ignore the potential psychological trauma involved in this process. But, nonetheless, we prisoners have continued to struggle to come up for air, only to be repeatedly held down and forced back under water by the corrupt and powerful hands of the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)!

WE CAN’T BREATHE!

History has always proven to be a viable guide to making qualitative assessments of where we have been and what lies ahead in the course of our struggle. Therefore, it is only appropriate that we highlight the essence of our human suffering with examples from our history in CDCR’s solitary confinement units.

In the 1960s, we prisoners were suffocating under the inhumane and deplorable conditions in Soledad’s O-Wing,[i] where prisoners were routinely placed in these strip, quiet cells amidst the foul stench of urine and human feces. In most instances, human waste laid bare on the floor for all to see.

And you could forget about the prison guards giving us anything to clean up the human waste, especially when you factor in how the prison guards wouldn’t give us toilet paper to wipe ourselves or flush our floor-based toilets on a regular basis, which could only be done by them. I mean, the prison guards wouldn’t even give us drinking water!

These contradictions brought about a rescue boat in the form of Jordan v. Fitzharris[ii]. But it did not contain any life preservers because no sooner had the federal court ruled these conditions to be unconstitutional, than CDCR refused to make any changes to improve the quality of life in O-Wing for the captive prisoner class.

WE CAN’T BREATHE!

Gradually, the Agreement to End Hostilities is spreading to the streets, spurred on by this celebration of the prisoners’ AEH held Oct. 10, 2012, the date it took effect. – Photo: Virginia Gutierrez

In the 1970s, we prisoners were suffocating under the inhumane conditions of being deprived of outdoor exercise and access to natural sunlight. Our means of exercise consisted of being let out of our cells to occupy a space in front of it that was no bigger than a public sidewalk.

In Spain v. Procunier[iii], the court ruled these conditions to be unconstitutional and mandated that prisoners in solitary confinement receive at least 10 hours of outdoor exercise a week. But 36 years later, in 2015, Warden Holland of CCI Tehachapi has admitted that this prison is ill-equipped to meet the mandate of 10 hours of outdoor recreation. In other words “caged monkeys” in a zoo are receiving more outdoor exercise and natural sunlight than we do!

WE CAN’T BREATHE!

In the 1980s, we prisoners were suffocating under the deplorable and outright inhumane conditions at Old Folsom and San Quentin state prisons. These conditions consisted of extreme cold weather during winter months due to prison guards using their guns to shoot out the windows in the housing units.

Rat feces circulated throughout the plumbing system, meaning that the designated shower areas for prisoners were inclusive of this kind of filth! Once again, a rescue boat appeared on the horizon in the form of Toussaint v. McCarthy[iv], where the federal court attempted to take previous rescue efforts a step further by not only ruling these conditions to be unconstitutional but also issuing a “permanent injunction” mandating these conditions to be immediately changed!

However, instead of any changes coming about, CDCR surreptitiously transferred prisoners out of Old Folsom and San Quentin en masse to Tehachapi, DUI Tracy, Soledad State Prison etc., thus nullifying the injunction.

WE CAN’T BREATHE!

In the 1990s, we witnessed the expansion and usage of solitary confinement units (e.g., “Supermax control units”) take flight, making CDCR’s population control objectives ever more apparent. Our suffocation was two-fold: On the one hand, a culture of police beatings (e.g., “excessive force”) was finally exposed to the public in Madrid v. Gomez[v], especially with the horror story of prisoner Vaughn Dortch, who was forced into a tub of boiling hot water. When he emerged, his skin fell off his body into a pile at his feet – what could be more barbaric? Prisoner Greg Dickerson was shot in the chest and stomach at point blank range in his cell with a 38 millimeter gas gun for the false claim he was non-cooperative with prison guards.

At the same time, prisoners were being forced to become informants for the state, in order to be released from solitary confinement via “the CDCR Inquisition” program. This practice was exposed as being an “underground policy” in Castillo v. Alameida[vi], because CDCR never promulgated it through the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to make it an actual policy.

The Castillo case also brought about the six-year inactive gang status reviews, which meant prisoners were led to believe we could be released from solitary confinement after six years. These reviews were a complete sham!

As we prisoners had absolutely no constitutional protections under this process, hardly any prisoners were released from SHU. But more importantly, this rescue boat was doomed from the time it left the docks, as it has now been revealed that Castillo is a pig collaborator, having become an informant for CDCR in the current class-action lawsuit of Ashker v. Brown, et. al.[vii], which has been mounted against the current conditions of solitary confinement.

WE CAN’T BREATHE!

It is through this spiral of development, that the AEH became manifest in October of 2012. So in reflecting upon our collective struggle – in being unable to breathe for over a half-century of pure torture – it is hard not to think of Eric Garner in the minutes right before his demise, when he uttered the words, “I CAN’T BREATHE!”

The Youth Justice League, which organized this celebration of the AEH on the day of its implementation in prison, is very familiar with issues that affect people both inside and out. – Photo: Virginia Gutierrez

It is this reality that we prisoners remain confronted with when considering why we ended our hostilities – it amounts to freedom or death! It is every prisoner’s aspiration to be liberated from prison.

Our Agreement to End Hostilities puts us in a viable position for this to happen, especially when we consider how CDCR has routinely denied us parole for simply being interned to indefinite solitary confinement status as alleged gang members, without a single act of violence to support their position. This speaks to the importance and the manner in which every prisoner has honored and adhered to our AEH.

This is commendable on all fronts! Our exemplary conduct has made CDCR completely powerless over us, as we have successfully taken away the fodder that used to fuel their political rhetoric in labeling us the “worst of the worst.”

Our unity now qualitatively threatens the political, social and economic stability of CDCR, which is why their counter intelligence unit, Institutional Gang Investigations, or IGI, is issuing all of these bogus CDC-115 rule violation reports (RVRs) for promoting gang activity.

Our fortitude and resolve to continue to live in unity ensures that our demand to be liberated from prison will no longer fall on deaf ears! As power concedes nothing without a demand!

We now have the power to change the course of history with CDCR’s routine parole board denials, just as we have done in building a movement around abolishing all solitary confinement units. We must begin a similar process in mobilizing our families on this very issue.

Our unity now qualitatively threatens the political, social and economic stability of CDCR, which is why their counter intelligence unit, Institutional Gang Investigations, or IGI, is issuing all of these bogus CDC-115 rule violation reports (RVRs) for promoting gang activity.

But until then, “WE CAN’T BREATHE” must become our mantra going forward, as we prisoners refuse to ease up on the powers that be until every prisoner is able to breathe by being liberated from these prisons!

[i] To learn more about the conditions in Soledad’s O-Wing, read “The Melancholy History of Soledad Prison” by Min S. Yee; and also see the report of the Assembly Select Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation: “Administrative Segregation in California’s Prisons” from the 1960s.

[vii] Ashker v. Brown, et. al., Case No. C-09-5796-CW, is a class-action lawsuit that has been mounted to challenge the torturous conditions of solitary confinement and can be downloaded at www.cand.uscourts.gov.

]]>http://sfbayview.com/2015/07/we-cant-breathe-thoughts-on-our-agreement-to-end-hostilities/feed/1What I meant when I said that #BlackLivesMatterhttp://sfbayview.com/2015/07/what-i-meant-when-i-said-that-blacklivesmatter/
http://sfbayview.com/2015/07/what-i-meant-when-i-said-that-blacklivesmatter/#commentsSun, 26 Jul 2015 00:06:54 +0000http://sfbayview.com/?p=56744by Alicia Garza

July 13 marks two years since Patrisse, Opal and I created #BlackLivesMatter, which began as an online platform designed to connect people online in order to take action together offline. It has since emerged into an international organizing network, with 26 chapters comprised of vibrant, brilliant and innovative Black leaders across generations.

More than a year after creating #BlackLivesMatter, I wrote an article on the Feminist Wire in which I outlined the political vision behind our project.

One point of concern for me at the time was the way in which anti-Blackness is expressed through the retort of “All Lives Matter” and other adaptations. This is still an issue. Two weeks ago, following the murder of nine Black people during a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, more than nine Black churches were set ablaze.

White denominations of faith have largely been silent about the deliberate and racist targeting of Black churches, and yet, these same denominations are often the first to proclaim that “All Lives Matter.”

But perhaps more urgently, I argued that if we are serious about transforming this country and our world into one that is led by the fundamental principles of justice and equity, we must be intentional about both acknowledging and fighting for all Black lives.

In the last few months, we’ve seen up close why it is so incredibly important to fight for all Black lives.

If we are serious about transforming this country and our world into one that is led by the fundamental principles of justice and equity, we must be intentional about both acknowledging and fighting for all Black lives.

The ferocity of white supremacy and structural racism rooted in anti-Black ideologies has exposed itself time and time again, to the detriment of our movement.

The world watched as Baltimore erupted over the murder of Freddie Gray, yet was relatively silent about the murder of Mya Hall, a Black trans woman, by the National Security Agency. In McKinney, Texas, 15-year-old Dejerria Becton was flung around like a rag doll in a bikini by police who were called to break up a pool party.

Alicia Garza with the Bay Area chapter of #BlackLivesMatter – Photo: Kristin Little

But not more than a week afterwards, the nation’s attention shifted to Rachel Dolezal, a white woman born to a white family who’d been masquerading as a Black woman for more than a decade.

Young women in Ferguson who bravely faced tear gas, rubber bullets and arrest now face assertions that the “gay” movement is attempting to hijack the Black movement, simply because they dare to assert that their lives matter too.

Intersectional politics (and practice) is not just theoretical – it is the lifeline upon which we depend for our collective liberation.

We have succeeded in rallying thousands for the too many Black men who have been killed at the hands of the police, yet the dozens of Black women, cis and trans, who have been killed at the hands of the police get much less attention, garner much less sympathy and even less tangible action to ensure that their lives matter too.

Nine (mostly) Black trans women were killed in the first few weeks of this year, and yet the attention is not there.

Intersectional politics (and practice) is not just theoretical – it is the lifeline upon which we depend for our collective liberation.

Far too many people still see #BlackLivesMatter as a movement that solely addresses the impact of police violence on Black men – yet we have always asserted that this movement, the movement to protect and defend the sanctity of Black lives, has always been about all of us. That Black men must stand beside (and at times behind) Black women, cis and trans, Black queer people, Black poor people, Black immigrants, Black disabled people, Black incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people to fight for all of us, because otherwise none of us are truly free.

Our futures are inextricably intertwined. The #BlackLivesMatter movement has pushed, since 2013, to ensure that all Black lives are seen as an important part of an overall movement for social transformation. We have much to lose if we negate that all Black lives are central to the most well being for all of us.

Our futures are inextricably intertwined. The #BlackLivesMatter movement has pushed, since 2013, to ensure that all Black lives are seen as an important part of an overall movement for social transformation.

We must not rest until all of us are free.

Alicia Garza is special projects director at NDWA (National Domestic Workers Alliance), co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter. She says, “I fall asleep at night dreaming about the infinite possibilities for freedom. Views all mine.” Follow her on Twitter: @aliciagarza. This story first appeared on Those People, which can be reached at stopthosepeople@gmail.com.

This is what the #BlackLivesMatter founders want you to know on the movement’s anniversary

On July 13, 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges relating to the murder of Trayvon Martin. The 17-year-old Martin’s death sparked outraged calls for justice across the country, and in many ways marked the beginning of what has become a modern movement to end the extrajudicial killings of Black people in the United States.

The decision to acquit Zimmerman was met with widespread anger and a call to action. Three Black women – Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi – took up that call and founded #BlackLivesMatter, which has gone from hashtags and handwritten signs to organizing summits. It is a rallying cry that’s focused on state- and hate- sponsored violence directed at Black communities, and with each passing month, it’s becoming louder.

Each of the co-founders sent Mic a statement to mark the anniversary.

Alicia Garza: “For many, birthdays mark joyous occasions. They are celebrations of life, celebrations of another year of growth, lessons learned, obstacles overcome.” She continued, “#BlackLivesMatter rises from the ashes of the Black lives that are taken each and every day by anti-Black racism and state-sanctioned violence.”

Opal Tometi: “I’m grateful that BLM has resonated with people like my family members in Nigeria and allied international networks like the European Network of People of African Descent. International networks like these know that economic globalization and criminalization of Blackness is affecting our people everywhere. In the 21st century, we need our movements to be rigorous about addressing the root causes of these persistent injustices.”

Patrisse Cullors: “All my life I witnessed the horror poor Black folks faced at the hands of the state – from police raids to mothers on welfare, unable to feed their children. I remember feeling like Black folks deserved so much more. We deserve a love that is true and divine. A love that is meant to protect us. On the BLM two-year anniversary, I want #BlackLivesMatter to be a forum for ALL Black lives. I want us to love fiercely and deepen our connectivity. #BlackLivesMatter is more than a slogan; it is a way of life – a new way of life where Black is beautiful, glorious and full of grace.”

Some may balk at the concept of hashtag activism, but these three women coined the phrase to unify a bubbling movement that’s not only existed on social media, but has played out in incredibly powerful moments across the country over the last two years. Here are a handful of the iconic #BlackLivesMatter moments that have led and shaped the current course of Black activism in the United States.

Protests in Ferguson, Missouri

#BlackLivesMatter gained worldwide attention following the death of Mike Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old who was shot and killed by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

“Black Lives Matter” signs in Ferguson

President Barack Obama pressed to talk about racism

It’s gained so much prominence that even President Barack Obama has taken notice. Earlier this year on The Late Show With David Letterman, the president danced around the phrase “Black lives matter,” saying, “How can we send a message to young people of color and minorities, particularly young men, saying your lives do matter?”

Oakland, California, demonstrations

During a bold action late last year in Oakland, California, protesters shut down roads near the city’s police headquarters. One scaled a flag pole and put up a sign that remembered Black lives lost to police violence, including 22-year-old Oscar Grant, an unarmed Black man who was shot and killed in Oakland by police in 2009, as portrayed in the 2013 film, “Fruitvale Station.”

In a surprise move late last year, current presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton became the most high-profile American politician to say “Black lives matter.” In April, shortly after she announced her campaign for the presidency, Clinton said the nation needed to face “hard truths about race and justice,” specifically police reform, the disproportionate practice of killing unarmed Black people at the hands of police and mass incarceration.

“Without the mass incarceration that we currently practice, millions fewer people would be in poverty,” she said, according to ThinkProgress. “You cannot talk about smart policing and reforming our justice system without talking about what’s needed to improve economic opportunity, better educational chances for young people, more support to families so they can do the best jobs they are capable of doing to help support their own children.”

Hillary Clinton

What’s next: In the last two years, Garza writes that the focus on Black lives has been rising, but stories focused on women and LGBTQ people are still excluded in the larger movement – even though the hashtag itself was started by queer women.

“Intersectional politics (and practice) is not just theoretical,” Garza wrote on Medium. “It is the lifeline upon which we depend for our collective liberation.”

Garza’s note, and the collective actions of the last year, reminds us that there’s still plenty of work left to be done. But it’s been quite a ride so far.

Jamilah King is a senior staff writer at Mic, where she focuses on race, gender and sexuality. She was formerly senior editor at Colorlines, an award-winning daily news site dedicated to racial justice. Prior to Colorlines, Jamilah was associate editor of WireTap, an online political magazine for young adults. She’s also a current board member of Women, Action and the Media (WAM!). Her work has appeared on Salon, MSNBC, the American Prospect, Al Jazeera, The Advocate and in the California Sunday Magazine. She’s also a music junkie and an avid Bay Area sports fan. Follow her on Twitter: @JamilahKing. This story first appeared at Mic.com.

Six lessons #BlackLivesMatter can learn from Amilcar Cabral

by Benjamin Woods

“Diplomatic relations can be established with the African Union to, at least, make a statement about the ongoing police violence against Black people in the diaspora.”

Amilcar Cabral

Amilcar Cabral is widely recognized as one of the most creative and influential revolutionary theorists that the African world has ever produced. He was the co-founder and leader of a national liberation movement in West Africa called the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). Founded in 1956, the PAIGC led an 11 year armed struggle against Portuguese colonialism, culminating in political independence in 1974.

Although an agent of the Portuguese political police assassinated Cabral before political independence was won, his ideas influenced the entire African world including the Black Liberation Movement in the United States. To an extent, his views have been appropriated by various ideological tendencies from Afrocentrists to post-modernists to Marxists.

The objective of this essay is twofold 1) to properly situate Cabral in the tradition of Revolutionary Pan Africanism and Socialism and 2) to demonstrate the lessons he can provide the emergent #BlackLivesMatter Movement.

1) Revolutionary political party. #BlackLivesMatter has inspired and generated numerous mass mobilizations throughout the U.S. The current discussion among organizers concerns how to move from mobilization to organization. Mobilizations are based on mass assemblies and spontaneity, but organization includes continuous political education, a unified political platform and clearly defined long-term objectives.

Cabral chose a political party as the organizational form and #BlackLivesMatter can do the same. A party is composed of cadre or full-time organizers trained in revolutionary ideology who root themselves among the working class. The party must have clear objectives of self-determination and the elimination of the capitalist system.

2) Revolutionary democracy. The PAIGC had two primary components: a) democratic centralism and b) village committees (VC). The objective of democratic centralism is “democracy in discussion, centralism in action.” In his book “Unity and Struggle,” Cabral writes: “It means that each decision concerning a new question must be taken after a full and free discussion within the bodies affected by it or from the base to the top, if the matter is one which affects the whole life of the party. After this discussion and in accordance with what emerges from it, the central bodies take a decision which must immediately be carried out at all levels concerned.”

And at this point, discussion ceases and there is unity in action. This method has been used in successful revolutionary movements in Zimbabwe, Cuba, China, Mozambique, Angola and many more.

The purpose of the VC system was to ensure the democratic participation of the majority of the population. They were responsible along with party cadres for administering social services like education, local defense, health etc. in liberated areas. The VCs were headed by five elected representatives from the local community. To guarantee gender equality two of the elected reps were required to be women.

Even if the VC made a decision that was in contradiction with the party, the VC’s choice was upheld and respected. In the U.S. context, popular assemblies that include a set number of neighborhoods can operate in the same capacity as Village Committees did in Guinea-Bissau. Venezuela’s communal councils and Cooperation Jackson offer excellent contemporary examples.

3) Pan Africanism. Cabral was a staunch supporter of African unity and Pan Africanism. In his own country he was able to organize the PAIGC across ethnic and religious lines. For example, the PAIGC was a secular organization that included Christians, Muslims and traditional religions, but Cabral was agnostic, stating: “I don’t believe there is a life after death.”

He was also a co-founder and spokesperson for the national liberation organizations in Mozambique and Angola. In a speech in 1972 titled “Connecting the Struggles: An Informal talk with Black Americans,” Cabral states: “It is also a contribution for you to never forget that you are Africans.”

The important lesson in this instance is for people of African descent to make practical connections across national borders in their struggles for self-determination. Diplomatic relations can be established with the African Union, currently chaired by the revered Pan Africanist Robert Mugabe, to at least make a statement about the ongoing police violence against Black people in the diaspora.

4) Culture and ideology. Cabral is most often cited for his contributions in explaining the relationship of culture and ideology to social movements and society in general. Unlike some sectors of the American Left that promote a form of economic determinism, Cabral understood that there must be self-conscious effort on the part of the masses and the party to transform the individual and society.

Culture and ideas can be instruments of domination or liberation. Today, individualism, consumerism, American meritocracy and the “illusion of inclusion” are all instruments of social control that must be challenged at the organizational and mass level in order for #BlackLivesMatter to become a broad based social movement.

5) Class suicide. A central component of Cabral’s scientific worldview was the concept of class suicide or a rejection of the values, status and privileges of the dominant society and identification with the working masses. This is especially relevant for the group he called the “petty bourgeoisie” – senior civil servants, intellectuals etc. – who generally are the most indoctrinated into colonial values.

He argued for a “Re-Africanization” which, he asserted, “is only completed during the course of the struggle, through daily contact with the mass of the people and communion of sacrifices which the struggle demands.” He warned against uncritically accepting tradition and cultural determinism.

Cabral understood the new national culture would primarily be built through a process of protracted struggle and have what he called a “mass character.”

6) Scientific socialism. Arguably his most important lesson was in the speech “The Weapon the Theory,” given in 1966 at the Tri-continental Conference in Havana, Cuba. He boldly proclaimed, “Nobody has yet successfully practiced revolution without a revolutionary theory.”

This is extremely relevant today due to the aversion to theory and ideological deficiencies so prevalent in the U.S. Although he didn’t adhere to any particular tendency – Marxism-Leninism, Trotskyism, Maoism etc. – Cabral began his analysis by applying the method of dialectical and historical materialism or scientific socialism to Guinea’s objective socio-economic conditions.

In fact, this is perhaps one of his greatest strengths: his ability to be non-dogmatic and flexible. Similar to Cabral, #BlackLivesMatter should understand that theory emerges from practice and be sure to balance the essential role of political economy and culture.

Cabral claimed that the ultimate objective of the movement was “the liberation of the process of development of the national productive forces – land, labor, tools of production, natural resources.” A master teacher, indeed.

Cabral’s life offers lessons in several other areas such as agronomy, women’s liberation, armed struggle, internationalism, the nature of the state, revolutionary ethics and more. Unfortunately, far too often, he and other Pan-Africanists are reduced to icons or symbols and their actual life and work are sidelined. As the next generation of revolutionary organizers step to the front of the line, it is important we know the contributions and lessons of those who came before us.